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Linux Basics
With many UNIX systems that are around, the user is unaware that the
operating system is a UNIX system. Many companies have point-of-sales
systems hooked up to a UNIX host.
For example, the users at the cash register may never
see what is being run. Therefore, there is really no need to go into details
about the system other than for pure curiosity assuming that users find out that
they are running on a UNIX
system.
On the other hand, if you do have access to the command line
or interact with the system by some other means,
knowing how the system is put together is useful information. Knowing how things
interact helps expand your knowledge. Knowing what's on your system is helpful in
figuring out just what your system can do.
That's what this chapter is about: what's out there. We're going to talk about
what makes up Linux. This
brings up the question "What is Linux?" There are more than a dozen
versions commercially available, in several different countries, all with their
own unique characteristics. How can you call any one of them the Linux
distribution?
The answer is you can't. What I will do instead is to
synthesize all the different versions into a single pseudo-version that we can
talk about. Although there are differences in the different versions, the
majority of the components are the same. There has been a great deal of effort
in the past few years to standardize Linux, with a great deal of success. I will
therefore address
this standard Linux and then mention those areas where
specific versions diverge.
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