The Linux operating system is everywhere around us. It is used frequently in mobile phones, cars, personal computers, servers, and cloud.
Linux operating system has been in use from the 1990s and its users are present around the globe. Linux offers high reliability, security, and trouble-free operating system.
Linux is an operating system. An operating system is an interface between computer users and hardware. An operating system manages the communication between hardware and software of the computer.
Let’s go into the detail of the Linux operating system. Down below is all the important information that you need for getting started on Linux and understanding the basic concepts and important commands of the Linux Platform.
What is a Linux Operating System
Linux operating system is one of the most popular operating systems around the world. The Android platform is also based on the Linux operating system. The Linux operating system consists of the following components:
Boot Loader
This component of the operating system runs in the boot process of the machine where Linux operating system runs. If you are using Linux, this boot loader will only be a splash screen that pops when the computer starts.
Linux kernel
The kernel of the Linux is known as the core of the system. This component is responsible for managing the different operations of the Linux OS. These operations include memory management, peripheral devices and CPU Management.
Daemons
These are known as the background services of the operating system. These services run in the background whenever the system boots and a user log into the system.
Graphical Server
This component is responsible for displaying the graphical user interface on your screen. The common name of graphical server is known as X server in Linux.
Desktop Environment
This is the actual environment that the user interacts with while using the Linux operating system. Different desktop environments are available for the Linux operating system.
Every desktop environment consists of different applications that the user use. Linux operating system comprises of a very captivating desktop environment.
Applications
The Linux operating system offers a large variety of different applications. These applications can be found and installed according to the requirements of the users. One common example is Ubuntu distribution, where the user have the “Ubuntu software center”. A user can quickly browse among a large variety of applications and install them on the computer.
Working of the Linux Operating System
Here is a diagram about How the Linux system architecture work. The shell layer acts as an interpreter between the users and the system. Shell acts as a command interpreter in Linux. Different shells are available in Linux like C shell, Bourne shell, Korn shell, etc. Bash is one of the most commonly used shell for Linux.
Some Common Linux commands
For using the Linux commands, you have to open the terminal application in Linux. If you are using the Ubuntu distribution of Linux, press ALT+ F2 to open the terminal. Some of the basic Linux commands are as follows:
Pwd command
Whenever the terminal application opens for the first time, the user is usually in the home directory. For knowing the location of the directory use the “pwd command”. This command will result in absolute path that usually starts from the root. The root is known as the base of the Linux operating system. Using the “pwd command” will give you the home directory address.
ls Command
This command is present for getting all the files that are in the current directory. If you want to see the hidden files in the same directory, use Is-a command.
Cd Command
Use this “cd command” To go to a directory of your choice. For example, suppose if you are in the home folder in the terminal application and you want to go to the download folder then you should type “cd download”.
As a rule of thumb, just remember that Linux is case sensitive. Therefore, type the exact name of the file that you want to go to. Use proper uppercase or lowercase. If you have a space in the file name, then use the “/”. In order to go back to a previous folder use the command “cd..”.
mkdir Command
Whenever you want to create a new folder or directory use the “mkdir” command. For example, if you want to create a directory known as the organization then type “mkdir organization”. Similarly, use “rmdir” to delete a directory. Example if you want to delete the directory known as group then type “rmdir group”.
Touch Command
Use the touch command for creating a new file. Files can have any type such as text type or zip-type etc. Just remember to correctly write the extension for the file that you are creating.
Conclusion
Linux is one of the most widely used operating systems around the world. It is used in smartphones, service, cloud computing and personal desktops.
Linux is one of the most secure operating systems. The important components of Linux include boot loader, Linux kernel., daemons, graphical server, desktop environment and applications.
All these components work together simultaneously in the Linux operating system. The shell layer is the interpreter between the users and the system. As Linux is an open-source OS therefore everyone can modify the code according to the requirements.
The terminal application is present in Ubuntu for using the command line interface. Users type the different commands in terminal application. Some common Linux commands are
- “pwd command”, (For knowing the location of the directory you are using).
- “ls command”, (For getting all the files in the current directory).
- “cd command”, (For going to the directory of our choice).
- “mkdir command”, (For creating new directories).
- “rm dir command” (For deleting a directory).
- “Touch command” (For creating new files).
These commands are very easy to use for beginners. Go ahead, use these commands and explore Linux Operating system.