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RRARI504

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What is Linux?

If you have ever worked with a desktop computer or any type of computing device, you have directly interacted with some software that has to communicate with its hardware. This software is called an operating system. An operating system is responsible for managing software and hardware resources like memory, files and processing power. It acts as a bridge between the user and a physical device.

Linux, a family of open sourced operating systems whose primary languages are C and Assembly, is built around the Linux Kernel. At the core of a computers operating system is the kernel which is a computer program that has total control over everything in that system. The Linux Kernel, created by Linus Torvalds in 1991, manages hardware and when combined with other systems, tools, libraries and user interfaces it creates a full operating system known as a Linux distribution or a 'distro'. For example, Ubuntu is a widely used Linux distribution that is known for ease of use and accessibility, which is great for beginners.

Relations
Relationship between kernel and distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE, etc.

Linux is described as a 'Unix-like' operating system meaning that it was designed to follow many of the same design principles as UNIX. However, Linux and UNIX are not the same, UNIX systems inspired Linux and by combining UNIX with open sourced development, Linux has became one of the most powerful operating systems today.

Operating Systems

Operating systems run on many devices like phones, tablets or computers. Linux is considered one of the most widely used operating systems when it comes to servers, cloud environments and embedded systems but other operating systems rival Linux in different markets.

MacOS - Apples desktop operating system for Macs.
IOS - Apples mobile operating system for iPhones.
Android - Googles mobile operating system that is also based on the Linux Kernel and powers a majority of smartphones and tablets globally.
Windows - Microsofts desktop and laptop operating system.

For mobile devices, Android and IOS are the top operating systems in that area. Android is known as the most widely used mobile operating system because it is able to run on devices for a wide range of manufactures and it is customizable. IOS however is known for the opposite; being tightly knit with Apple hardware but offering flush user experience.

For desktop and laptop devices, Windows and macOS are the top operating systems. Windows has wide hardware capabilities and great software support and is often used in businesses and schools. Windows is also widely considered as the best operating system based on market share beating out all other competition by a very large margin.

Operating Systems
Desktop, Mobile & Tablet Operating System Market Share Worldwide Jan. 2012 - Jan. 2026

Although not being a heavy hitter like Android or Windows, Linux stands out in a different way when compared to more popular operating systems. Linux plays a hug role in modern computing powering a majority of web servers and cloud infrastructure. Its popularity stems from it being secure, stable and low maintenance and unlike Windows or macOs, Linux gives you full control over your system making it very customizable. This is why Linux is used to power a lot of the internets infrastructure and why Android itself relies on the Linux Kernel.

Linux in the Real World

Linux is not a common choice for everyday novice consumers on desktop and mobile devices but Linux is very relevant behind the scenes in technology with nearly half of all cloud instances using Linux environments and the reason is for the advantages it offers. This makes it almost necessary to learn Linux if you want to be a cloud engineer today. Major cloud providers, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, all use Linux to power their VM's and services. Linux operating system market also reached USD 21.97 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to USD 99.69 billion by 2032 8.

Since about the end 2024 all of the top 500 supercomputers in the world run on Linux and 64.9% of government data centers worldwide report Linux adoption 7. Linux has the capacity to power some of the busiest websites and services because of its stability and ability to handle heavy traffic.

Linux also has a command-line interface that supports scripting tools and has access to freely available development packages. Overall, Linux is not the best operating system on the market for everyday use but it does offer a specific set of tools and control that is lacking with closed-sourced platforms.

Conclusion

For modern day work flows, many software developers and IT professionals prefer Linux for creating, testing, and deploying software. Linux’s open-source platform allows developers and organizations to build highly customizable and efficient systems that make up the root of modern internet. For these reasons, Linux is one of the most influential and widely used operating systems in the world today.

SOURCES:

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_(operating_system)
  2. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/operating-systems/operating-systems/
  3. https://subscription.packtpub.com/book/cloud-and-networking/9781837630691/2/ch02lvl1sec04/introducing-the-linux-operating-system/
  4. https://www.reallinuxuser.com/what-is-a-linux-distribution/
  5. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/linux-unix/linux-vs-unix/
  6. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet/worldwide/#monthly-201201-202601-bar
  7. https://cloudhandbook.substack.com/p/why-you-must-learn-linux-as-a-cloud
  8. https://commandlinux.com/statistics/linux-server-market-share/
  9. https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/linux-kernel

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