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Linux

Pingvin Tux, baziran na slici koju je kreirao Larry Ewing 1996, je logo i maskota Linuxa.
Izdavač/ razvijatelj:	Različite kompanije i pojedinci
Skupina OSa:	Unixoliki
Zadnja stabilna verzija:	2.6.20.3 (kernel) / 13. mart 2007
Tip kernela:	Modularni monolitni kernel
Licenca:	GPL
Stanje:	Razvija se

Linux (također znan kao i GNU/Linux) je Unixoliki računarski operativni sistem. Jedan je od najpoznatijih primjera otvorenog i slobodnog softvera; za razliku od vlasničkih operativnih sistema kao Windows ili Mac OS X, sav njegov izvorni kôd je dostupan svakome da ga koristi, modificira, i slobodno redistribuira.

Linux su većinom razvijali i koristitli entuzijasti na osobnim računarima. Od tada, Linux je dobio podršku velikih kompanija kao IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, i podršku Novella za upotrebu na serverima, a dobija popularnost i na desktop računarima^[1]. Koristi se na sistemima koji variraju od super računara do mobitela. Analitičari kažu da je za uspjeh Linuxa najviše zaslušna njegova sigurnost, niska cijena, sloboda mjenjanja i distribuiranja i mogućnost oslanjanja.^[2][3]

Sadržaj 1 Historija 1.1 Važnije prekretnice 1.2 Linux danas 1.3 Prihvaćanje 1.4 Naziv i izgovor 2 Copyright i tržna marka 2.1 Analize izvornog koda 2.2 SCO tužba 3 Filozofija 3.1 Interoperability 3.2 Portability 3.3 Community 4 Distributions 5 Interface 5.1 Command line interface 5.2 X window managers 5.3 Desktop environments 6 Applications 6.1 Desktop 6.1.1 Games 6.1.2 Comparison with Windows 6.2 Servers, supercomputers and embedded devices 6.3 Software development 7 Također pogledajte 8 Reference 9 Vanjski linkovi 9.1 Općenito 9.2 Distribucije

[uredi] Historija

U 1983. godini, Richard Stallman je osnovao GNU projekat, sa ciljem razvijanja kompletnog Unixolikog operativnog sistema sastavljenog isključivo od slobodnog softvera. Već početkom 1990tih, GNU je napravio i skupio većinu potrebnih komponenti ovog sistema - biblioteke, kompajlere, editore teksta, Unixoliki shell, osim najvažnije komponente, kernela. GNU projekat je počeo razvijati kernel Hurd, u 1990im, baziran na Mach mikrokernelu, ali razvoj ovog Mach-baziranog dizajna je bio težak i spor.

U to vrijeme, u 1991, drugi kernel je začet kao hobi Finskog studenta Linusa Torvaldsa dok je pohađao Helskinki univerzitet.^[4] Torvalds je originalno koristio Minix na svom računaru, pojednostavljeni Unixoliki sistem napisan od strane Andrew Tanenbauma. Ipak, Tanenbaum nije dozvolio drugima da nadograde njegov operativni sistem, tjerajući Linusa da napravi zamjenu za Minix.

Originalno, Torvalds je zvao svoj kernel "Freax" za "free" i"freak" sa često korištenim slovom X u Unixolikim sistemima. Ime "Linux" je smislio Ari Lemmke, koji je administrirao FTP server koji je pripadao Finskoj univerzitekstoj mreži; on je izmislio ime Linux za direktorij na kojem je Torvaldsov projekt prvi put postao dostupan.^[5]

U početku je za konfiguraciju i instalaciju Linuxa bio potreban računar sa Minixom. Inicijalne verzije Linuxa su također zahtijevale drugi operativni sistem da bi se pokrenule sa hard diska, ali ubrzo su se pojavili nezavisni boot loader programi kao što je npr. LILO (en. LInux LOader). Linux je ubrzo prešao Minix po funkcionalnosti; Torvalds i drugi programeri ranih verzija Linux kernela su spojili svoj rad i GNU komponente i korisničke programe da bi napravili kompletan, potpuno funkcionalan i slobodan operativni sistem. Linux kernel je originalno napravljen samo za Intel 80386 mikroprocesore, ali sada podržava veliki broj računarskih arhitektura. Linux je najportaniji operativni sistem današnjice. Također postoje i specijalizirane distribucije za manje poznate arhitekture.

[uredi] Važnije prekretnice

GNU fondacija je napravila osnovu za operativni sistem koji je kompletiran naporima brojnih članova zajednice slobodnog i otvorenog softvera. U važnije projekte spadaju:

• Osnivanje KDE grafičkog okruženja Matthias Ettricha u oktobru 1996 praćen uporedljivom GNOME alternativom Miguel da Icaza-e u augustu 1997, oba bazirana na X11 windowing sistemu razvijenom na MITu.
• Objavljivanje izvornog koda Netscape Internet preglednika 31. marta 1998, koji je prestigao Mozilla projekt koji je doveo do nastanka popularnog Mozilla Firefox Internet preglednika.

• Objavljivanje StarOfficea od strane Sun Microsystemsa koji je u junu 2000 postao osnova slobodnog OpenOffice.org paketa^[6], važan događaj u svijetu otvorenih office aplikacija.
• Rast komercijalnog interesa za Linux je slično označen važnim događajima: pokretanje Open Source Initiative u februaru 1998; obavijest da će poznati softver za databaze kompanije Oracle Corporation biti portan za Linux; podrška tehnološkog giganta IBMa kroz milione dolara utrošenih na Linux, zapošljavajući oko 300 razvijatelja Linux kernela, i organizacija legalne odbrane u SCO vs. Linux kontroverzi protiv napada SCO grupe koja je tražila copyright nad Linux kernelom; i konačno kupovina Ximiana i kasnije SUSEa od strane američkog tehnološkog giganta Novella.^[7]

[uredi] Linux danas

Danas, Torvalds nastavlja direktni razvoj kernela, dok se drugi podsistemi kao GNU komponente nastavljaju razvijati odvojeno (razvoj Linux kernela ne spada u GNU projekat). Druge grupe i kompanije kombiniraju i distribuiraju ove komponente sa dodatnim aplikacijama u formi Linux distribucija. Danas se Linux koristi u različite svrhe, od embedded sistema^[8] do super računara,^[9] i ima osigurano mjesto na serverskim instalacijama sa popularnim LAMP aplikacijskim paketom^[10] Torvalds nastavlja direktni razvoj kernela. Stallman vodi Fondaciju za slobodni softver, koja razvija GNU komponente. Konačno, individualci i korporacije razvijaju ne-GNU komponente. Ove komponente obuhvataju kernel module i korisničke aplikacije i biblioteke. Isporučioci Linuxa kombiniraju i distribuiraju kernel, GNU komponente, i ne-GNU komponente sa dodatnim softverom za upravljanje paketima u formi Linux distribucija.

[uredi] Prihvaćanje

Glavni članak: Prihvaćanje Linuxa

Mnoga kvantitativna istraživanja otvorenog softvera fokusiraju se na tržisni udio i mogućnost oslananja, uz mnogo istraživanja koja se direktno tiču Linuxa.^[11] Tržište Linuxa brzo raste i zauzima servere, desktope, i softver za Linux će preći $35.7 biliona do 2008.8.^[12] Tačan broj korisnika može biti veći od očekivanih, jer je većina Linux distribucija i aplikacija slobodno dostupna i redistributabilna.

Prihvaćanje Linuxa na desktop mašinama je sporije nego na serverima. Prema tržišnom istraživanju kompanije IDC iz 2004. godine, 25% servera i 2.8 % desktop računara koriste Linux.^[13] Procjenjivanje ovih brojeva se radi uz analize posjećenosti web stranica, što može biti komplicirano zbog dva faktora. Prvo, više Internet preglednika može izmijeniti svoje informacije, da ne bi bili blokirani od strane web stranica koje odbijaju interakciju sa preglednicima osim Internet Explorera na Microsoft Windowsu. Drugo, Linux sistemi mogu biti podešeni da ne šalju ovaj tip informacije zbog privatnosti i sigurnosih razloga.

Linux Online navodi da je za mnoge Linux prikladan sistem samo za računarske eksperte jer najpopularniji računarski magazini ne mogu objasniti Linux na razumljivi način, jer im nedostaje životno iskustvo u korištenju istoga.^[14] Štaviše, neslaganje cijene zamjene operativnog sistema i nedostaka hardvera i aplikacija dizajniranih za Microsoft Windowssu dva faktora koja koče prihvaćanje Linuxa. Ipak, početkom 2007, načinjen je značajan napredak u hardverskoj kompatibilnosti, i postaje uobičajno da hardver radi "out of the box" (izvan kutije) sa većinom Linux distribucija. Analitičari uspjeh Linuxa pripisuju njegovoj sigurnosti, pouzdanosti,,^[15] niskoj cijeni i slobodi.^[16]

[uredi] Naziv i izgovor

U 1992, Torvalds je objasnio kako on izgovara riječ Linux:

Linus Torvalds^[17]

Zvučna datoteka koju je snimio Torvalds a govori "Hello, this is Linus Torvalds, and I pronounce Linux as Linux" (Zdravo, ovo je Linus Torvalds, i govorim riječ Linux kao Linux) se može naći ovdje.

Fondacija za slobodni softver Linux distribucije koje koriste GNU softver vidi kao "varijante" GNU sistema, i traže da se takvi projekti nazivaju GNU/Linux ili Linux-bazirani GNU sistem.^[18] Ipak, mediji i korisnici ovu porodicu operativnih sistema češće nazviaju Linux. Dok neki distributori koriste taj naziv, najvidljivije Debian sa Debian GNU/Linux distribucijom, njegovo korištenje izvan entuzijastične zajednice je ograničeno. Razlika između Linux kernela i distribucija baziranih na njemu uz GNU sistem je izvor zbunjenosti mnogim novim korisnicima, i naziv ostaje kontroverzan

[uredi] Copyright i tržna marka

Linux kernel i većina GNU softvera je licencirana pod GPL licencom. GPL zahtjeva da se sve izmjene na distribuiranom izvornom kodu i radovi koji proizlaze iz toga također budu pod GPL licencom, i nekad je označavana kao "dijeljena i dijeljiva" ili "copyleft" licenca. U 1997, Linus Torvalds je izjavio, "Pravljenje Linuxa pod GPL licencom je definitivno najbolja stvar koju sam ikada radio."^[19] Drugi softver može sadržavati druge licence; mnoge bilbioteke koriste GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), dopustljiviju varijantu GPLa, a X Window System koristi MIT licencu.

U SADu, ime Linux je tržna marka^[20] registrirana na Linusa Torvaldsa. U početku, niko nije obraćao pažnju na registraciju imena, ali 15. augusta 1994, William R. Della Croce, Jr. prijavio se za tržnu marku Linux, i tada zatražio rojalitet od distributora Linuxa. U 1996, Torvalds i neke organizacije su zatražile da tržna marka bude registrirana na Torvaldsa, i u 1997 je dodijeljena^[21]. Licenciranje tržne marke sada vodi Linux Mark Institut. Torvalds je izjavio da je registrirao tržnu marku imena da bi spriječio druge da ga koriste, ali u 2005. trebale su biti poduzete velike mjere zaštite tržne marke. Kao rezultat, LMI je poslao više pisama distributorima da plate korištenje imena, i više kompanija je prijavilo žalbu.

[uredi] Analize izvornog koda

Istraživanje iz 2001 Red Hat Linuxa 7.1 je pokazalo da je tada ova distribucija sadržila 30 miliona linija izvornog koda. Koristeći konstruktivni model cijene, istraživanje je pokazalo da je ova distribucija zahtijevala 800 ljudskih godina razvoja. Prema istraživanju, ako bi sav taj softver bio razvijen pod uvjetima vlasničkog softvera, koštao bi oko 1.08 biliona dolara za razvijanje u USA-u. ^[22]

Većina koda (71%) je napisana u C programskom jeziku, ali mnogi drugi jezici se koriste, uključujući C++, Lisp, asembler, Perl, Fortran, Python i brojne shell skripte. Nešto više od polovine svih linija su licencirane pod GPL licencom. Samo Linux kernel ima 2.4 miliona koda, ili 8% ukupnog.^[22]

U kasnijem istraživanju, iste analize su izvršene na Debian GNU/Linuxu 2.2.^[23] Distribucija je sadržavala više od 55 miliona linija izvornog koda, i istraživanje je procjenilo da bi sve to koštalo 1.9 biliona dolara.

[uredi] SCO tužba

U martu 2003, SCO grupa je tužila IBM, tvrdeći da je IBM dodao dijelove zaštićenog SCO koda u Linux kernel, narušavajući IBMovu licencu korištenja Unixa. Dodatno, SCO je poslao pisma brojnim kompanijama upozoravajući ih da je njihovo korištenje Linuxa bez SCO licence kažnjivo, i tvrdilo da će tužiti individualne korisnike Linuxa. Prema suđenju 3. jula 2006. u Utahu; 182 od 294 stavke dostavljene od strane SCOa protiv IBMa su odbačene.^[24] Do današnjeg dana, nije bilo dokaza o kopiranom kodu SCOa u Linuxu.

[uredi] Filozofija

Primarna razlika između Linuxa i drugih današnjih operativnih sistema je u tome što su Linux kernel i druge komponente otvoreni softver. Linux is not the only such operating system, although it is the most well-known and widely used one. Some open source licenses are based on the principle of copyleft, a kind of reciprocity: any work derived from a copyleft piece of software must also be copyleft itself. The most common free software license is used for the Linux kernel itself: the GNU GPL written by Richard Stallman.

One of the advantages of open source, as proposed by Eric Raymond in The Cathedral and the Bazaar, is that it allows for rapid software bug detection and elimination, which is important for correcting security exploits. This argument rejects the notion of security by obscurity.

[uredi] Interoperability

Linux aims for interoperability with other operating systems, and by extension the software that runs on Linux aims for interoperability with other Linux and non-Linux software. As an operating system underdog competing with mainstream operating systems, Linux cannot rely on a monopoly advantage; in order for Linux to be a convenient operating system for users that is commercially viable, it must interact well with non-Linux computers. Interoperability also provides users free choice of software and data formats whilst not restricting them as a result of that choice.

Linux systems adhere to POSIX, SUS, ISO, and ANSI standards where possible, although to date only one Linux distribution has been POSIX.1 certified, Linux-FT.^[25][26][27]

A priority is placed on open formats, public specifications for data that are freely available and free to implement, such that there can be multiple competing independent implementations to choose from, instead of only a single piece of software which can work with a specific format. These contrast with closed formats, which are either poorly documented or not documented at all, and for which there exists no agreement between competing vendors. When standards exist for network communication protocols, data formats, and APIs, they contribute to the robustness and adoption of Linux. In some cases, free software projects are the reference implementation of these protocols, examples being the Apache HTTP Server,Šablon:Fact and the X.org implementation of the X Window System.

Examples of standard conformance include Mozilla Firefox which adheres strictly to World Wide Web Consortium recommendations, Jabber which formed the basis for the XMPP standard recognized by the Internet Engineering Task Force in the domain of instant messaging, and office productivity suites such as OpenOffice.org and KOffice which brought to light the recent OpenDocument standard.

In other domains, there are neither recognized standards nor organizations to manage them. The market is therefore split between software which attempts to interoperate as much as possible, and that which establishes market dominance through vendor lock-in, or the use of closed formats and communication protocols. Prime examples of the first category draw from the instant messaging war, which is ruled by multiprotocol software such as Gaim, Kopete, and Trillian. The second category of software is exemplified by Microsoft Office and its widely used closed file formats, and the Common Internet File System protocol which allow for files and printers to be shared between different computers on a Windows network.

In these cases, interoperability depends on reverse engineering, which requires a substantial investment on the part of developers. The legal status of reverse engineering varies from country to country; it may be illegal in the United StatesŠablon:Fact but legal in Europe, provided the goal is limited to interoperability.Šablon:Fact Today, as a result of reverse engineering, OpenOffice.org can read most .doc files, and Samba allows non-Windows machines to interact with a Windows network.

A further problem beyond reverse engineering is when interoperability is needed for a format or protocol that is technically encumbered by digital rights management or Trusted Computing, or legally restricted by software patents or laws such as the European Copyright Directive and Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

[uredi] Portability

Linux is a portable operating system. While the Linux kernel was originally designed only for Intel 80386 microprocessors, it now runs on a more diverse range of computer architectures than any other operating system—^[28] from the hand-held ARM-based iPAQ to the mainframe IBM System z9, in devices ranging from supercomputers to mobile phones. Specialized distributions exist for less mainstream architectures. The ELKS kernel fork can run on Intel 8086 or Intel 80286 16-bit microprocessors, while the µClinux kernel may run on systems without a memory management unit including the Apple iPod. The kernel also runs on architectures that were only ever intended to use a manufacturer-created operating system, such as the iMac and PowerBook, Palm PDAs, GameCube, Xbox and even the Playstation Portable.

[uredi] Community

Linux is largely driven by its developer and user communities. Some vendors develop and fund their distributions on a volunteer basis, Debian being a well-known example. Others maintain a community version of their commercial distributions, as RedHat does with Fedora Core.

In many cities and regions, local associations known as Linux Users Groups (LUGs) seek to promote Linux and by extension free software. They hold meetings and provide free demonstrations, training, technical support, and operating system installation to new users. There are also many internet communities that seek to provide support to Linux users and developers. Most distributions and open source projects have a chatroom on the popular freenode IRC network that are open to anybody with an IRC client. Online forums are another means for support, with notable examples being LinuxQuestions.org and the Gentoo forums. Finally, every established free software project and Linux distribution has one or more mailing lists; commonly there will be a specific topic such as usage or development for a given list. The Linux Kernel Mailing List is a high-volume list where all Linux kernel development happens. SourceForge, Savannah, and Apache host many free and open source software projects using standard collaborative software.

Linux-based newsgroups are available via the Google Groups interface and also via news readers. There are also several technology websites with a Linux focus. Linux Weekly News is a weekly digest of Linux-related news; the Linux Journal is an online magazine of Linux articles published monthly; Slashdot is a technology-related news website with many stories on Linux and open source software; Groklaw has written in depth about Linux-related legal proceedings; and there are many articles relevant to Linux on the Free Software Foundation website.

People who contribute to free software are not all software developers, as exemplified by the GNOME and KDE projects; there are many non-development contributions needed, as is the case for any software product. Furthermore, the principles of free software and open source have had repercussions in other domains where collaboration is possible and the cost of making copies is marginal. Amongst the members of this open source culture are the Creative Commons movement initiated by Lawrence Lessig and the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia founded by Jimmy Wales.

Although Linux is generally available free of charge, several large corporations have established business models that involve selling, supporting, and contributing to Linux and free software. These include IBM, HP, Sun Microsystems, Novell, and Red Hat. The free software licenses on which Linux is based explicitly accommodate and encourage commercialization; the relationship between Linux as a whole and individual vendors may be seen as symbiotic. The business model of commercial suppliers is generally dependent on charging for support, especially for business users. A number of companies also offer a specialized business version of their distribution, which adds proprietary support packages and tools to administer higher numbers of installations or to simplify administrative tasks.

[uredi] Distributions

Šablon:Main Free software projects, although developed in a collaborative fashion, are often produced independently of each other. However, given that the software licenses explicitly permit redistribution, this provides a basis for larger scale projects that collect the software produced by stand-alone projects and make it available all at once in the form of a Linux distribution.

A Linux distribution, commonly called a "distro", is a project that manages a remote collection of Linux-based software, and facilitates installation of a Linux operating system. Distributions are maintained by individuals, loose-knit teams, volunteer organizations, and commercial entities. They include system software and application software in the form of packages, and distribution-specific software for initial system installation and configuration as well as later package upgrades and installs. A distribution is responsible for the default configuration of installed Linux systems, system security, and more generally integration of the thousands of software packages into a coherent whole.

A typical general purpose distribution includes: a boot loader such as LILO or GRUB, the Linux kernel, GNU Compiler Collection, GNU C Library, GNU bash shell, X Window System networking and display protocol and an accompanying desktop environment such as KDE or GNOME, together with thousands of application software packages, from office suites to webservers to media players to 3D computer graphics software to text editors, and scientific programs.

As well as those designed for general purpose use, distributions may be specialized for different purposes including: computer architecture support, embedded systems, stability, security, localization to a specific region or language, targeting of specific user groups, support for real-time applications, or commitment to a given desktop environment. Furthermore, some distributions deliberately include only free software. Currently, over three hundred distributions are actively developed, with about a dozen distributions being most popular for general-purpose use.^[29]

[uredi] Interface

[uredi] Command line interface

Linux includes a command line interface (CLI) as part of its Unix-like functionality. Distributions specialized for servers or administration may use the CLI as their only interface, for the absence of a graphical user interface (GUI) helps to increase security and minimize system resource consumption. As well, Linux machines can run without a monitor attached. In order for a user to access them, either remote X11 usage is necessary, or the CLI must be used via a protocol such as SSH or telnet. On local networks, remote X11 usage is generally acceptable, but over long distances high network latency can make it impractical.

In the early history of Linux, many operations required CLI usage. The advent of distributions dedicated to desktop and family have changed this. However, online manuals for Linux often mention a CLI-based solution to a problem, even if a GUI-based alternative exists. The CLI is universal in the Linux world, whereas GUIs can differ from machine to machine. It also facilitates inter-operation between Linux and non-Linux machines which also have a CLI; Mac OS X machines are one example. It is also easier for an expert to help a user via the CLI if the user need only copy and paste the advice into a terminal.

Many important programs do not have a GUI, including most of the GNU userland. This comes from the Unix philosophy of designing a program to do one thing, and to do it well. The CLI is particularly suited for automation of repetitive or delayed tasks, and there is a natural progression where the command to perform a task is first issued directly, and then later reused in a script to provide automation.

Graphical and command line interfaces can also complement each other. There are a host of graphical terminal emulator programs, including xterm, rxvt, aterm, gnome-terminal, and konsole. For these programs, the X11 copy and paste mechanism can facilitate communication between the terminal and GUI applications.

[uredi] X window managers

The traditional GUI for a Linux operating system is based on a stand-alone X window manager such as FVWM, Enlightenment, or Window Maker, and a suite of diverse applications running under it. The window manager provides a means to control the placement and appearance of individual application windows, and interacts with the X window system. A high degree of flexibility allows for extensive customization, and the resource requirements in terms of CPU, memory, and hard-disk space consumption are lower than those of a full-fledged desktop environment.Šablon:Fact

This model contrasts with that of platforms such as Mac OS, which were developed during the same era as the X window system. Under such platforms, the user interface is unified by a single toolkit that provides widgets for everything from buttons to window decorations such as title bars, manages window placement, and otherwise provides a consistent look and feel to the user. Because the X window managers only manage the placement of windows, their decoration, and some inter-process communication, the look and feel of individual applications may vary widely, especially if they use different graphical user interface toolkits.

[uredi] Desktop environments

The use of window managers by themselves declined with the rise of Linux desktop environments. They combine a window manager with a suite of standard applications that adhere to human interface guidelines. Whereas a window manager is analogous to the Aqua user interface for OS X, a Linux desktop environment is analogous to Aqua as well as all of the default OS X graphical applications and configuration utilities. Initially, CDE was available as a proprietary solution, but was never popular on Linux systems due to cost and licensing restrictions.Šablon:Fact In 1996 the KDE was announced, followed in 1997 by the announcement of GNOME. Xfce is a smaller project that was also founded in 1997, and focuses on speed and modularity. A comparison of X Window System desktop environments demonstrates the differences between environments.

[uredi] Applications

[uredi] Desktop

Under Linux, desktop software in high demand is of high quality; this includes applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, email clients, and web browsers. The following are the major Linux desktop applications:

• Office: OpenOffice.org. It may be useful to compare office suites.
• Internet: Firefox, Thunderbird, Evolution, Gaim, and Azureus
• Multimedia: VLC, MPlayer, Xine, XMMS, and Amarok
• Graphics: The GIMP, Inkscape, and Scribus

Although in specialized application domains such as desktop publishing and professional audio there may be a lack of commercial quality software, users migrating from Mac OS X and Windows can find equivalent applications for most tasks.^[30] Furthermore, it is uncommon for a free software project that works under Windows or OS X not to have a Linux version; a user accustomed to using free software under Windows can generally expect to find the same applications running under Linux. A growing amount of proprietary desktop software is also supported under Linux,^[31] examples being Macromedia Flash, Adobe Acrobat, Opera, Skype, and Nero Burning ROM. Additionally, Crossover Office is a commercial solution based on the open source WINE project that supports running Windows versions of Microsoft Office and Photoshop.

[uredi] Games

Šablon:Main

There are far fewer games available for Linux than for Windows, console systems, or even Mac OS X; game development companies generally receive a lower return on investment when they support an operating system with a small market share. The Linux Gamers' Game List is a long but selective list,^[32] and The Linux Game Tome is a database with many entries that is less discriminating but has user comments and rankings.^[33]

There are few original open source games that have obtained notability, examples being NetHack and Tux Racer. Remakes and re-releases are more common, examples being FreeCiv and The Ur-Quan Masters. In some cases, developers have released Linux ports of their games directly, with id Software recently releasing Doom 3. Independent companies have also taken on the task of porting prominent Windows games to Linux after their initial release. Loki Software was the first such company, founded in 1998, and superseded by Linux Game Publishing in 2001. WINE and the commercial Cedega fork allow many Windows games to run natively under Linux, and virtual machines and low-level machine emulators provide binary compatibility for games designed for other platforms.

Library support for Linux gaming is provided directly by OpenGL and ALSA, or by SDL, a cross-platform multimedia wrapper around system-dependent libraries. The DRI project provides open source video card drivers, and NVIDIA, and ATI also release binary kernel modules for their video cards. Linux runs on several game consoles, including the Xbox,^[34] Playstation 2, and GameCube,^[35] which allows game developers without an expensive game development kit to access console hardware.

[uredi] Comparison with Windows

Šablon:Main

Due to the prevalence of Microsoft Windows on personal computers from the mid-1990s onwards, a comparison between Windows and Linux became a common topic of conversation among computer enthusiasts. In the past, Linux and other free software projects have been frequently criticized for not going far enough to ensure ease of use.^[36] Since then, there have been numerous independent studies and articles which indicate that a modern Linux desktop using either GNOME or KDE is on par with Microsoft Windows, even in a business setting.^[37]

Although lack of application support is often cited as a reason to use Windows over Linux, compatibility layers such as Wine or NdisWrapper and virtual machines like VirtualBox allow some Microsoft Windows applications and drivers to be used on Linux without requiring the vendor to adapt them. This allows users to more easily migrate from Windows to Linux since they can still run many of their Windows applications with little additional effort. Additionally, commercial software such as CrossOver have been developed which extend Wine to allow many commercial Windows applications to run in a Linux environment. In a similar fashion, Cygwin and Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX make it possible for users of Windows to run some GNU and other software normally only available on Linux and other Unix-like systems.

[uredi] Servers, supercomputers and embedded devices

Historically, Linux has mainly been used as a server operating system, and has risen to prominence in that area; Netcraft reported in September 2006 that eight of the ten most reliable internet hosting companies run Linux on their web servers.^[38] This is due to its relative stability and long uptimes, and the fact that desktop software with a graphical user interface is often unneeded. Enterprise and non-enterprise Linux distributions may be found running on servers. Linux is the cornerstone of the LAMP server-software combination (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl/PHP/Python) which has achieved popularity among developers, and which is one of the more common platforms for website hosting.

Linux is commonly used as an operating system for supercomputers. As of January 5 2007, out of the top 500 systems, 376 (75.2%) run Linux.^[39]

Due to its low cost and its high configurability, an embedded Linux is often used in embedded systems such as television set-top boxes, mobile phones, and handheld devices. Linux has become a major competitor to the proprietary Symbian OS found in many mobile phones (16.7% of smartphones sold worldwide during 3Q, 2006 were using Linux^[40]), and it is an alternative to the dominant Windows CE and Palm OS operating systems on handheld devices. The popular TiVo digital video recorder uses a customized version of Linux.^[41] Several network firewall and router standalone products, including several from Linksys, use Linux internally, using its advanced firewalling and routing capabilities. The Korg OASYS and the Yamaha Motif XS music workstations also run Linux.

[uredi] Software development

Most Linux distributions support dozens of programming languages. Core system software such as libraries and basic utilities are usually written in C. Enterprise software is often written in C, C++, Java, Perl, Ruby, or Python. The most common collection of utilities for building both Linux applications and operating system programs is found within the GNU toolchain, which includes the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and the GNU build system. Amongst others, GCC provides compilers for C, C++, Java, and Fortran. The Linux kernel itself is written to be compiled with GCC.

Most distributions also include support for Perl, Ruby, Python and other dynamic languages. Examples of languages that are less common, but still well-supported, are C# via the Mono project, and Scheme. A number of Java Virtual Machines and development kits run on Linux, including the original Sun Microsystems JVM (HotSpot), and IBM's J2SE RE, as well as many open-source projects like Kaffe. The two main frameworks for developing graphical applications are those of GNOME and KDE. These projects are based on the GTK+ and Qt widget toolkits, respectively, which can also be used independently of the larger framework. Both support a wide variety of languages. There are a number of Integrated development environments available including MonoDevelop, KDevelop, Anjuta, NetBeans, and Eclipse while the traditional editors Vim and Emacs remain popular.^[42]

[uredi] Također pogledajte

• Spisak Linux distribucija

[uredi] Reference

[uredi] Vanjski linkovi

[uredi] Općenito

• Linux.org — sadrži raznovrsne informacije i resurse o Linuxu.
• Kernel.org — Web stranica Linux kernela
• The Linux Documentation Project — HOWTOi, FAQi i drugi vodiči.
• developerWorks Linux zone — Stotine Linux HOWTOa, priručnika, foruma i drugih resursa.

[uredi] Distribucije

• Linux Online — distribucije i FTP stranice (poredane po kategorijama).
• DistroWatch.com — novosti i informacije o distribucijama.

Linux distribucije
CentOS | Debian | Fedora | Gentoo | Knoppix | Mandriva Linux | Red Hat Enterprise Linux | Slackware | SUSE Linux | Ubuntu | više…