InformIT: Red Hat Linux 7 Unleashed

Advantages of Linux

Why would you choose Linux over UNIX? As already mentioned, Linux is free. Like UNIX, it is very powerful and is a real operating system. Also, it is fairly small compared to other UNIX operating systems, although to be honest, some versions of BSD UNIX, such as OpenBSD, can be shoehorned onto a 60MB filesystem. Many commercial UNIX operating systems require 500MB or more, whereas some versions of Linux, such as the embedded uCLinux, can be run on as little as 2MB of file space and 2MB of RAM. You can even run Linux from a floppy disk!

Realistically, you will want room for development tools, data, and so on, which can take up 500MB or more, and your RAM should be 32–64MB (although the more, the merrier!). See Chapter 2, "Installation of Your Red Hat System," for more specifics on space requirements and later this chapter for more information on system hardware requirements. Here's what you get in exchange for that valuable space:

Full multitasking— Multiple tasks can be run in the background, and multiple devices, such as a modem, printer, and hard drive, can be accessed at the same time.
Virtual memory— Linux safely uses a portion of your hard drive as virtual memory, which increases the efficiency of your system by keeping active processes in RAM and placing less frequently used or inactive portions of memory on disk. Virtual memory also utilizes all your system's memory and doesn't allow memory segmentation to occur.
Hardware support— Linux, especially Intel-based versions, supports nearly all hardware architectures and devices, with the best support for legacy hardware. This is an advantage in that new versions of the operating system will not make your older hardware obsolete.
The X Window System— The X Window System is a graphics system for UNIX machines. This powerful interface supports many applications and is the standard interface for the industry.
Built-in networking support— Linux uses standard TCP/IP protocols, including Network File System (NFS), Network Information Service (NIS, formerly known as YP), Session Message Block (SMB), and others. You can access the Internet by connecting your system with an Ethernet card, or a parallel-port, serial cable, or over a modem to another system.
Shared libraries— Because each command shares a common library of subroutines it can call at runtime, Linux helps saves memory and hard drive space.
Compatibility with the IEEE POSIX.1 standard— Because of this compatibility, Linux supports many of the standards set forth for all UNIX systems.
Open Source code— The Linux kernel uses no code from AT&T or any other proprietary source. This allows other organizations, the GNU project, hackers, and programmers from all over the world to develop and contribute software for Linux.
Documentation— Nearly every Linux distribution comes with more than 12,000 pages of documentation in the form of manual pages, info documents, or guides. You'll also find extra technical documentation for software packages under the /usr/share/doc directory. Unlike operating systems offered by the monopolistic software industry, Linux is fully documented—one problem might be that there is too much information!
Lower cost than most other UNIX systems and UNIX clones— If you have a fast Internet connection and a CDR drive, you can freely download Linux off the Internet. Many books also come with a free copy (this book includes the latest version of Intel-based Red Hat Linux on the CD-ROMs).
GNU software support— Linux can run a wide range of free software available through the GNU project. This software includes everything from programming tools, such as compilers, assemblers, linkers, and loaders, to system administration utilities, such as stream editors, the venerable emacs editor, and even games.

The Magic of Red Hat Linux | Next Section

Previous Section