Linux history. Briefly about the main thing
Linux roots can be traced back to the 70s of the 20th century. The starting point can be considered the appearance of the Unix operating system in 1969 in the United States at Bell Laboratories, a subsidiary of AT & T. Unix has become the mainstream for a large number of industrial-grade operating systems. The most basic of them are displayed on this timeline:
Linux, on the other hand, owes its life to two projects most - GNU and Minix.
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The history of the GNU project began in September 1983 . The founder of the GNU project, Richard Stallman (Richard M. Stallman) was working at this time in the laboratory of artificial intelligence of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts). Stallman is called one of the most prominent programmers of our time.
In the environment to which Stallman belonged, it was decided to freely exchange programs and their source codes. The AT & T Unix license, for example, cost $ 40,000. Only sufficiently large firms could afford to buy it. And without having a license, the programmer did not have the right to use the source codes of the system in his developments. This prevented the exchange of ideas in the field of programming and greatly slowed down the process of creating programs, because instead of borrowing a ready piece of code to solve a particular problem, the program developer was forced to write this part of the code again, which is akin to the invention of the wheel.
Stallman decided to change this state of affairs in programming. In1983 , he announced the beginning of the development of the GNU project, whose goal was to create a fully open operating system:
The abbreviation GNU stands for "GNU is not Unix" (GNU is Not Unix). Unix has always been non-free software, that is, it deprives its users of the freedom of cooperation, as well as control over their computers (like Windows today). A little later, Stallman wrote his famous GNU Manifesto , which became the basis for the GPL (GNU General Public License) license. The role of this license cannot be overestimated; it has changed the entire computer industry.
The basic idea of ​​the GPL is that the user must have the following four rights (or four freedoms):
The software distributed under this license can be used, copied, modified, modified, transferred or sold modified (or even unmodified) versions to other persons, provided that the result of such processing will also be distributed under the GPL license. The last condition is the most important and decisive in this license. It ensures that the results of the efforts of free software developers remain open and do not become part of any product licensed in the usual way. It also distinguishes free software from free software. One of the requirements of this license is that by selling software under the GPL license, you must provide the source codes of this software to anyone who wants to access them. The GPL license "makes the software free and ensures that it remains free."
By1990 , the GNU project had created most of the components necessary for the operation of a free operating system. In addition to the Emacs text editor, Stallman created the gcc compiler (GNU C Compiler) and the gdb debugger. Being an outstanding programmer, Richard Stallman single-handedly managed to create an efficient and reliable compiler that is superior in quality to commercial vendor products created by entire groups of programmers. Since initially, when it was created, the task of ensuring portability was set, today there are versions of this compiler for almost all operating systems. Later compilers were created for other programming languages, including C ++, Pascal and Fortran. So now the abbreviation GCC stands for GNU Compiler Collection.
As Richard Stallman writes: “By1990 , the GNU system was almost finished, only one of the basic components — the kernel — was missing.” The kernel (it was called Hurd ) was expected to be implemented as a set of server processes running on the Mach microkernel , created at Carnegie Mellon University, and then at the University of Utah. Start of development was postponed pending the release of Mach, which, as promised, will be released in the form of free software. But its appearance was postponed, and then a kernel developed by the Finnish student Linus Torvalds appeared, called Linux. Linus created it in an attempt to improve his home operating system Minix, which is worth mentioning separately.
1990s , Intel-based personal computers equipped with Microsoft operating systems dominated the desktop market and captured a significant share of the server market — the traditional scope of Unix systems. Computers based on Intel and Intel-compatible processors have reached computing power comparable to the power of workstations with Unix. But most commercial Unix systems did not have versions capable of running on Intel hardware. Unix manufacturers usually worked closely with manufacturers of specific processors, or even had a share of ownership in the companies that produced these processors, and therefore were interested in using their own developments. Examples include the SGI and MIPS processor lines.
Since the hardware capabilities of personal computers were rapidly increasing, it is natural that, sooner or later, Unix variants for computers based on Intel-compatible processors should have appeared. One such version of the Unix-like operating system that played a special role in the history of Linux was developed in January 1987 by Andrew Tanenbaum , professor at Vrieux University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Tanenbaum was one of the leading experts in the development of operating systems. He developed his Minix (Minix) operating system as a textbook, using the example of which showed students the internal structure of a real operating system.
Of course, as an operating system, Minix was not the height of perfection. It was focused on the microprocessor Intel 80286, which at that time dominated the market. But she had one very important quality - open source. Anyone who had a book “Operating Systems” by Tanenbaum could study and analyze 12,000 lines of code written in C and in assembly language. It was the rare case when the source codes were not locked with seven seals in the safes of the developer. A great author, Tanenbaum has managed to engage the most eminent minds of computer science in a discussion of the art of building operating systems. Minix could be purchased separately from the book; it could actually be installed on a personal computer. Students of computer faculties around the world pored over Tanenbaum’s book, reading codes to understand how the very system that controls their computer works. And one of these students was Linus Torvalds.
In 1991 , Linus Torvalds , a Finnish student, was extremely interested in writing a Unix-compatible operating system kernel for his personal computer with an Intel processor. The prototype for the future kernel was the Minix operating system: a Unix-compatible operating system for personal computers that booted from diskettes and fit in the very limited memory of a personal computer at that time.
On August 25 , 1991 , Linus Torvalds sent the first message about his development to the comp.os.minix newsgroup:
The name "Linux" new system received as follows. Torvalds himself was somewhat embarrassed by the consonance of this name with his name, so he tried to call his development Freax. This name can be found in the kernl / Makefile file version 0.11, and in the source code of other programs. But Ari Lemke, who provided a place for putting the system on an FTP site, called the pub / OS / Linux directory. And this name was fixed for the new OS.
The fact that Linus laid out the code of his OS on the Internet was decisive in the further fate of Linux. Although in1991 , the Internet was not yet as widespread as it is today, but mostly people with sufficient technical training used it. And from the very beginning, Torvalds received several interested responses.
Around February1992 , Linus asked all those who already used or tested Linux to send him a postcard. Such cards were received several hundreds from all over the world - from New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, the USA. This suggested that Linux began to gain some fame.
Initially, hundreds of people joined the development, then thousands, then hundreds of thousands of volunteers. The system was no longer just a toy for hackers. Supplemented by a plethora of programs developed as part of the GNU project, Linux has become suitable for practical use. And the fact that the core of the system was distributed under the GNU General Public License guaranteed that the source codes of the system would remain free, that is, they could be copied, studied and modified without fear of running into any harassment from the developer or some commercial company. This fact drew in the ranks of users and supporters of Linux all new followers, primarily from among the students and programmers.
By this time, a separate Linux conference on the Internet was formed - comp.os.linux. Enthusiasts formed many user groups and in the beginning of1994 , the first issue of the journal “Linux Journal” was published. Linux attracted the attention of industrial firms and several small companies began to develop and sell their own versions of Linux.
Initially, Linus Torvalds did not want to sell their development. And I didn’t want someone else to sell it. This was clearly spelled out in the copyright notice, placed in the very first version of the COPYING file - 0.01. Moreover, Linus's requirement imposed significantly more stringent restrictions on the spread of Linux than those proclaimed in the GNU license: it was not allowed to charge any money for the transfer or use of Linux. But already in February1992 , they began to turn to him for permission to charge for the distribution of Linux diskettes in order to cover the time and cost of diskettes. In addition, it was necessary to reckon with the fact that the creation of Linux used a lot of tools freely distributed on the Internet, the most important of which was the GCC compiler. The copyright to it is stipulated in the public GPL license, which Richard Stallman invented. Torvalds had to revise his copyright statement, and, starting with version 0.12, he also switched to using the GPL license.
From a technical point of view, Linux is only the core of a Unix-like operating system, which is responsible for interacting with computer hardware and performing tasks such as allocating memory, allocating processor time to various programs, and so on. In addition to the kernel, the operating system includes many different utilities that serve to organize user interaction with the system. The success of Linux as an operating system is largely due to the fact that by1991 , the GNU project had already developed many utilities that were freely distributed on the Internet. The GNU project lacked a kernel, and the kernel most likely would have remained unclaimed if there were no utilities needed for the work. Linus Torvalds was with his development in the right place at the right time. And Richard Stallman is right when he insists that the operating system should not be called Linux, but GNU / Linux. But the name Linux has historically been attached to this OS, so we will also call it simply Linux (not forgetting the merits of Stallman and his associates).
PS I honestly flipped through the Habré all 36 pages of search results for the query "linux history" and did not find anything integral on the topic, which seemed to me rather strange, given the popularity of the system among habrovchan. The information was collected by bits from all over the Internet, the wheat from the chaff were separated, and I hope it will be interesting for you.
UPD: I made the right comment about the timeline. I reworked it, at the same time once again checked all the dates. I think it has become better and more obvious.
Linux, on the other hand, owes its life to two projects most - GNU and Minix.
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GNU
The history of the GNU project began in September In the environment to which Stallman belonged, it was decided to freely exchange programs and their source codes. The AT & T Unix license, for example, cost $ 40,000. Only sufficiently large firms could afford to buy it. And without having a license, the programmer did not have the right to use the source codes of the system in his developments. This prevented the exchange of ideas in the field of programming and greatly slowed down the process of creating programs, because instead of borrowing a ready piece of code to solve a particular problem, the program developer was forced to write this part of the code again, which is akin to the invention of the wheel.
Stallman decided to change this state of affairs in programming. In
Thursday, September 27, 1983, 12:35:59 EST
Free Unix!
After Thanksgiving, I start writing the GNU Unix-compatible software system (Gnu's Not Unix), which I will provide freely (!) To anyone who can use it. Need help in the form of time, money, software and equipment.
GNU will contain the kernel plus all the utilities needed to write and run C programs: editor, shell, C compiler, linker, assembler, and a few more things. After that, a text formatter, YACC, Empire, a spreadsheet, and hundreds of other things will be added. We hope to include everything that usually comes with Unix systems, and everything else that might be useful, including online and printed documentation.
GNU will be able to run Unix programs, but will not be identical to Unix. We will make improvements to the system based on our experience with other operating systems ...
The abbreviation GNU stands for "GNU is not Unix" (GNU is Not Unix). Unix has always been non-free software, that is, it deprives its users of the freedom of cooperation, as well as control over their computers (like Windows today). A little later, Stallman wrote his famous GNU Manifesto , which became the basis for the GPL (GNU General Public License) license. The role of this license cannot be overestimated; it has changed the entire computer industry.
The basic idea of ​​the GPL is that the user must have the following four rights (or four freedoms):
- The right to run the program for any purpose (freedom 0);
- The right to study the program structure and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1), which implies access to the source code of the program;
- The right to distribute the program, having the opportunity to help others (freedom 2);
- The right to improve the program and publish improvements, in favor of the whole community (freedom 3), which also implies access to the source code of the program.
The software distributed under this license can be used, copied, modified, modified, transferred or sold modified (or even unmodified) versions to other persons, provided that the result of such processing will also be distributed under the GPL license. The last condition is the most important and decisive in this license. It ensures that the results of the efforts of free software developers remain open and do not become part of any product licensed in the usual way. It also distinguishes free software from free software. One of the requirements of this license is that by selling software under the GPL license, you must provide the source codes of this software to anyone who wants to access them. The GPL license "makes the software free and ensures that it remains free."
By
As Richard Stallman writes: “By
Minix
During the Since the hardware capabilities of personal computers were rapidly increasing, it is natural that, sooner or later, Unix variants for computers based on Intel-compatible processors should have appeared. One such version of the Unix-like operating system that played a special role in the history of Linux was developed in January Of course, as an operating system, Minix was not the height of perfection. It was focused on the microprocessor Intel 80286, which at that time dominated the market. But she had one very important quality - open source. Anyone who had a book “Operating Systems” by Tanenbaum could study and analyze 12,000 lines of code written in C and in assembly language. It was the rare case when the source codes were not locked with seven seals in the safes of the developer. A great author, Tanenbaum has managed to engage the most eminent minds of computer science in a discussion of the art of building operating systems. Minix could be purchased separately from the book; it could actually be installed on a personal computer. Students of computer faculties around the world pored over Tanenbaum’s book, reading codes to understand how the very system that controls their computer works. And one of these students was Linus Torvalds.
Linux
In From: torvaldsSklaava.Helsinki.Fi (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
To: Newsgroups: comp.os.inix
Subject: What do you miss most about minix?
Summary: a small survey for my Message-ID operating system: <1991Aug25.205708.9541@klaava.Helsinki.Fi>
Date: August 25, 1991, 20:57:08 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki
Hello to all minix users!
I am writing a (free) operating system (it's just a hobby, nothing big and professional, like gnu) for AT 386 (486). I have been busy with this since April, and she seems to be ready soon. Write to me who likes / dislikes in minix, since my OS is similar to it (among other things, it has - for practical reasons - the same physical layout of the file system).
So far I have transferred bash (1.08) and gcc (1.40) to it, and everything seems to work. So, in the coming months I will have something working already, and I would like to know what functions most people need. All applications are accepted, but performance is not guaranteed :-)
Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)
Ps. It is free of the minix code and includes a multitasking file system. It is NOT portable (task switching 386, etc. is used) and may never support anything other than AT hard drives, because I have nothing else :-(
The name "Linux" new system received as follows. Torvalds himself was somewhat embarrassed by the consonance of this name with his name, so he tried to call his development Freax. This name can be found in the kernl / Makefile file version 0.11, and in the source code of other programs. But Ari Lemke, who provided a place for putting the system on an FTP site, called the pub / OS / Linux directory. And this name was fixed for the new OS.
The fact that Linus laid out the code of his OS on the Internet was decisive in the further fate of Linux. Although in
Around February
Initially, hundreds of people joined the development, then thousands, then hundreds of thousands of volunteers. The system was no longer just a toy for hackers. Supplemented by a plethora of programs developed as part of the GNU project, Linux has become suitable for practical use. And the fact that the core of the system was distributed under the GNU General Public License guaranteed that the source codes of the system would remain free, that is, they could be copied, studied and modified without fear of running into any harassment from the developer or some commercial company. This fact drew in the ranks of users and supporters of Linux all new followers, primarily from among the students and programmers.
By this time, a separate Linux conference on the Internet was formed - comp.os.linux. Enthusiasts formed many user groups and in the beginning of
Initially, Linus Torvalds did not want to sell their development. And I didn’t want someone else to sell it. This was clearly spelled out in the copyright notice, placed in the very first version of the COPYING file - 0.01. Moreover, Linus's requirement imposed significantly more stringent restrictions on the spread of Linux than those proclaimed in the GNU license: it was not allowed to charge any money for the transfer or use of Linux. But already in February
From a technical point of view, Linux is only the core of a Unix-like operating system, which is responsible for interacting with computer hardware and performing tasks such as allocating memory, allocating processor time to various programs, and so on. In addition to the kernel, the operating system includes many different utilities that serve to organize user interaction with the system. The success of Linux as an operating system is largely due to the fact that by
PS I honestly flipped through the Habré all 36 pages of search results for the query "linux history" and did not find anything integral on the topic, which seemed to me rather strange, given the popularity of the system among habrovchan. The information was collected by bits from all over the Internet, the wheat from the chaff were separated, and I hope it will be interesting for you.
UPD: I made the right comment about the timeline. I reworked it, at the same time once again checked all the dates. I think it has become better and more obvious.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/95646/
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