When I joined MountBlue, one of the first things we were asked to do was dual boot Ubuntu.
Before that, I had always used Windows. I had built several projects on it and, during college, I had only learned a few basic Linux commands like pwd, ls, and cd. To me, Linux was just another operating system that developers talked about.
I also had many misconceptions.
I thought Ubuntu, macOS, Windows, and Android were simply different operating systems with no deeper relationship. I had heard that most software companies preferred developers to use Ubuntu or macOS, but I never really understood why.
Installing Ubuntu made me curious.
I started asking questions like:
Is Linux an operating system or just a kernel?
Why do people keep mentioning Unix and GNU?
Why do developers prefer Linux over Windows?
If Windows already has a terminal, why is Linux so popular among developers?
As I explored further, I realized something interesting.
For most everyday users, the operating system is mainly a way to run applications through a graphical interface. Whether it's browsing the web, watching videos, or editing documents, everything is designed to be accessed through windows, icons, and menus.
Software developers, however, often work in environments that are very different from a typical personal computer. They interact with remote servers, cloud machines, containers, and virtual machines—systems that often don't have a graphical desktop at all. In these environments, the command-line interface (CLI) becomes the primary way to work.
That made me realize learning Linux isn't just about memorizing commands. It's about understanding how operating systems work and why developers rely on them every day.
This series is my attempt to document that journey.
I'm not writing these articles because I know Linux. I'm writing them because I'm learning Linux—and writing is helping me understand it better. If you're beginning your journey too, let's learn together.
Welcome to Linux from Scratch.
In the next article, we'll start from the very beginning.
What exactly is Unix, and why did Linux even exist if Unix was already there?
See you in Part 1.
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