Welcome to the world of Linux and open-source software! In this lesson, we will learn about the Linux Operating System, its history, and its applications. Linux has had an incredible impact on modern technology as a lightweight operating system for low-power devices to highly sophisticated supercomputers. Linux runs on over 95% of web servers. Today, Linux runs 85% of smartphones (Android is built on top of the Linux kernel).

The reason that Linux is such a flexible operating system is that almost all of its features can be accessed using a text terminal, without a graphical desktop environment. This gives us faster access to a computer or server’s resources.

In the next few exercises, we’ll talk about Linux’s history and open-source ideas, the components of the Linux operating system, and the different “flavors” of Linux. Towards the end, we will tour a Linux desktop.

Let’s get started!