16 Part I Linux Basics

Linux on a Personal Computer

At one time, the use of Linux on the PC was only for the technical professional or hobbyist. This is changing rapidly because the impression that Linux is always stable but difficult for the end user is being replaced by the idea that Linux is easy to install, set up, and use. Almost every distribution of Linux has an easy-to-use graphical interface that even the novice user can follow. Linux distributions are also using some excellent hardware probing tools for easier installation on any PC. Most creators of Linux distributions understand that the user may want to dual-boot with Microsoft Windows or Mac OS, so they make this an easy option to perform. The addition of Windows-like Desktop managers and GUI environments has eased the transition for traditional Mac OS and Microsoft Windows users into the Linux environment. All of these updated features are making Linux a viable choice for the home or business PC user. However, Linux still has some disadvantages because some tasks continue to be difficult to perform. For example, the novice user is still afraid of using the UNIX command line, and many other tasks involve a more indepth knowledge of the Linux environment that a novice user may not have. Behind the GUI interface, however, is the power, stability, and reliability that UNIX and Linux bring to the PC — regardless of the platform. A familiar interface, overlaying a powerful operating system, lets everyone use Linux and benefit from it.

Graphical installation

The fact that the common user has the ability to operate a Linux PC the same way as a competing OS is a tribute to the speed at which Linux has developed. This growth has powered several changes in Linux, the first of which is the installation interface. Most distributions have left the command line behind, opting for an easy- to-understand graphical installation. (Don’t worry; the command line is still there for those who want to use it.) These graphical installation programs provide mouse support, a basic windows system, and easy push button control panels that allow users to walk through the installation process fairly easily. Using this method, any user who can install or upgrade Microsoft Windows or Mac OS can install or upgrade Linux. This is the first key development that is allowing Linux to grow.

Hardware detection

The second development that is contributing to the growth of Linux is its hardware detection and support. All major distributions of Linux for the PC have excellent hardware detection. Through the use of advanced hardware detection and some support for plug-and-play devices, Linux can detect and load the correct device drivers for various types of hardware. This enables the user to ignore the previous task of manually configuring the PC for the hardware that it contains. The ability to detect most new hardware and automatically load proper drivers has eased the difficulty of Linux installation on most PCs.

Graphical user interface

Because most users transitioning from the Microsoft Windows or the Mac operating system are used to a graphical environment, Linux had to have a similar interface to remain competitive. Both the K Desktop Environment (KDE) and GNU Network Object Model Environment (GNOME) are very competent GUI environments. They include most (if not all) of the features that the Microsoft Windows or Mac OS graphical interfaces offer, and they add several excellent utilities, such as word processors, database programs, spreadsheets, accounting programs, and many more. Several commercial programs, such as WordPerfect, are also available for Linux. The maturing process of the Linux graphical interface is not complete, but they are extremely comparable to the other GUIs on competitive operating systems.

Linux limitations on the PC

There are some prominent issues that must be resolved before more users will have the desire to switch to Linux. Most commercial application software is written for Microsoft or Mac OS, and even though some are ported to Linux, a large number of popular software applications are still not available. Some hardware is also not supported to the fullest capability possible. Linux relies on vendors to make their drivers or hardware open to developers. Some manufacturers don’t release information for their hardware. This lack of information can cause the user some difficulty in configuring the hardware — especially if no drivers are available for the device. It can take a long time for a developer to write a Linux driver for recently released hardware devices. These issues are decreasing in number as new releases of the Linux kernel make improvements on support for 3D graphics, USB, IEEE1394, and virtually any other new hardware technology.

Linux succeeds on the PC

Because Linux is now providing support for almost every piece of hardware, has an easy installation interface, and gives users an excellent GUI to work with, Linux has become the fastest growing operating system today. Perhaps Linux will soon be seen as the best operating system for the PC — and it is completely possible that Linux will displace other operating systems as the primary OS for every PC platform.

Linux on workstations

Because Linux will work with virtually any hardware device, it can also be ported easily to work on virtually every hardware platform. This ability has allowed Linux to be installed on the professional workstation. This ability to run on any workstation platform may provide users with the following:

New life for older workstations with slower hardware

A common operating system environment across different platforms

Software portability to all hardware platforms

18 Part I Linux Basics

These benefits can enable general users and users in companies and governments to work on the same operating system across various hardware from PCs to workstations.

Because Linux was created with UNIX compliance in mind, it inherits the portability of UNIX. Portability means that it can be adapted to practically any hardware, so you will see it on everything from embedded chips to multi-processor servers. The porting to various workstation platforms allows Linux to replace vendor-specific operating systems and provide a current, common, and POSIX-compliant operating system, which can be used to provide a common operating system environment to all hardware devices. Linux can thus save a user, company, or government the expense of replacing or upgrading the vendor-specific operating system on the old workstations.

Linux on servers

Because UNIX is an excellent server operating system, Linux inherits the UNIX capability of providing efficient and stable server services. The stability of Linux makes it a natural selection to provide services to many users. Because Linux supports all the major services that are on the market today and can easily scale upwards to support additional services and applications, it fulfills all the needs that a server must provide. Linux runs on virtually every platform, so it is able to replace less capable and unreliable operating systems. Linux does have some limitations, but as stated previously, Linux is rapidly resolving these deficiencies as the kernel is improved and evolved.

Stability

Servers require stability. Linux is a very stable operating system — often running for years without a reboot — so it can easily provide a reliable server to any user, company, or government. The reliability of Linux can be traced to the kernel, and because the GNU GPL allows anyone to fix problems with the kernel, it is continually evolving its stability through constant improvements. The kernel, the core system, and other services can run as modules, thus adding to the stability of Linux. Additionally, if a module were to crash, it can be stopped and restarted separately from the operating system; this is a good way to update drivers and other services that are running on the server. By providing a very stable environment, Linux is very well suited to be a server.

Services

Linux provides the base operating system for a server environment, but its popularity has come from the wide variety of applications and services that have been developed for it by Linux programmers. These services are usually released under Open Source or GNU GPL methods and are improved and modified to work as stable and efficient as possible.