Linux, if you want to be annoyingly precise about it, isn’t a complete operating system. It is but a kernel. And like the kernel of a seed pod, it requires all the surrounding bits to be useful.
A bootloader can happily load a Linux kernel with no init system specified, and it will just sit there. Without userspace applications (for example, systemd in the first instance) telling the kernel what to do it will simply idle. Yet it has the potential to do anything. The kernel includes everything you would think of as being a low-level component of the operating system, as well as some things you might think belong elsewhere. This includes drivers, filesystems, network protocols, schedulers (process and I/O), memory allocators and all kinds of other treasure.
In the early days of Linux, users would regularly have to face compiling their own kernels, sometimes to get new hardware support, sometimes to reconfigure their way out of brokenness, and sometimes to improve performance. Users of Linux From Scratch or Gentoo will be familiar with the kernel compilation process, since it’s more or less mandatory there. But it’s an option for any flavour of Linux, so we thought we’d have a go at making building kernels more accessible.
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Denne historien er fra April 2022-utgaven av Linux Format.
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Create your first WebSocket service
Mihalis Tsoukalos explains how to use the Go programming language to work with the WebSocket protocol.
Fantastic Mr Firefox
Nick Peers takes a trip down memory lane to reveal the story behind the rise - and slight fall - of Mozilla's popular web browser.
Set up your terminal and email like it's 1983
Jump in the hot terminal time machine with Mats Tage Axelsson who emails from the command line using the latest technology.
Universal layer text effects with GIMP
Posters use them, films and presentations are hard to imagine without them: text effects. Attract attention with Karsten Günther and GIMP.
Jump to a federated social network
Nick Peers reveals how you can get up and running with this free, decentralised and non-profit alternative to Twitter.
Free our SOFTWARE!
Taking anything for granted is dangerous, so Jonni Bidwell and Mike Saunders revisit how the free software movement got started to help free us from proprietary tyranny!
Master RPI.GPIO
Les Pounder goes back to the early days of the Raspberry Pi - and his career with this classic library! -
Waveshare Zero to Pi3
Transform your Pi Zero into a Pi 3, they promised Les Pounder, but it's more like adding on go-faster stripes.
The Best OPEN SOURCE Software Ever!
In an attempt to trigger controversy, Michael Reed and Neil Mohr unequivocally state these are the greatest free software apps ever. Probably. We’re just trying to be helpful.
Linux-Mandrake 7
Simplicity and a wide range of applications make this a great distribution for all Linux users.