linux last update 2012.08.24 1.3.0 copyright 2000-2012 kenneth m. chipps ph.d. 1

LinuxLast Update 2012.08.24

1.3.0

Copyright 2000-2012 Kenneth M. Chipps Ph.D. www.chipps.com

1

Objectives of This Section

• Learn– Issues related to the use of Linux as a server

operating system now and in the future


2

Distributions

• Linux like Unix has diverged into competing distributions

• One of the main reasons Unix is not more widely used is the many different flavors it has morphed into

• Linux is fundamentally the same as Linus Torvalds maintains control of the kernel

• The kernel is Linux


3

Distributions

• But what is happening is that companies are taking this kernel and creating distributions

• Aspects of these distributions are what are diverging from each other

• A perfect example being the configuration files used to tell Linux about the values of the variables it uses


4

Distributions

• Red Hat does it one way and Slackware does it another

• Then one distribution uses one kind of configuration program while the other uses something else


5

Distributions

• In general distributions differ around the following– Tool chain– Library version– Number and quality of applications– Documentation– Support– License used


6

License Used

• Although Linux itself is covered by the General Public License many applications are commercial programs

• Those that are commercial encounter some resistance in the Linux community

• This community thinks everything should be free


7

File Sources

• Another important difference is whether a distribution uses Red Hat’s RPM package manager or the Debian DEB system for installing applications and other programs


8

Library Version

• Most developers of Linux programs use the Free Software Foundation’s GNU C library

• This allows users to recompile open-source applications supplied in source-code form to run with the libraries their systems use


9

Library Version

• However, all Linux distributions may not keep the required library files in the same directory

• If only the main executable file of a third-party application is installed, it may fail to run on one or more distributions because it can’t find a required library file or the current version


10

Library Version

• This problem does not usually occur with source-code distributions as opposed to binary-code distributions because all required files, including those for libraries, are generally provided


11

linux last update 2012.08.24 1.3.0 copyright 2000-2012 kenneth m. chipps ph.d. 1

Documents