Linux is a completely free reimplementation of the POSIX specification, with SYSV and BSD extensions (which means it looks like Unix, but does not come from the same source code base), which is available in both source code and binary form. It is copyrighted by Linus B. Torvalds (Linus.Torvalds@Helsinki.FI) and other contributors, and is freely redistributable under the terms of the GNU Public License.
I gathered some notable linux kernel release info from:
Linux-0.01 was compiled with gcc-1.40 and released by Linus Torvalds
Linux boots from floppy drive.
- It was binary compatible with single threaded file system of mimix,
- no message passing and linux used multithreaded filesystem instead,
- true multi-tasking was available with a 'better" scheduler
than that on mimix.
- Device drivers used interrupts which was not hidden.
- There was no distinction in the kernel/fs/mm, and was all linked to the
same heap and in its own subdirectory source tree and running
in the same data/code space.
- Simple memory management algorithm took advantage of page and segment faults
features of the intel386 CPU.
- linux partitions could be mounted from mimix but linux cound not mount mimix ( no mount command )
- Linux' kernel goes into supervisor mode to solve the multirace conditions
and deadlocks to access the multithreaded file system.
- GNU provided the shell (bash), compilers and libraries.
- SVGA Mode support for ET400 at 100x40 instead of 80x25
- job control: bg,fg, jobs & kill
- support for virtual console, EGA, VGA
- 387 emulation works with gcc-2.0
- support for symbolic links ( one level )
- mkswap was born for virtual memory
- init & login prompt on 4 virtual consoles
- extended partions support and device name change to the familiar /dev/hdxx
- bash+tar+compress does NOT fit on floppy anymore
- 5 depth levels of symlinks
- improved virtual memory: swap, mkswap, swapon, dd
- less mimix dependence
- Linux-0.95a released on 17-Mar-92 ( about 100K for linux-0.95.gz )
- sh, ash replaced overgrown bash
- binaries moved around: cat, more, mkdev, install, init, update
- lots of activity around linux-0.95 by various contributers
- the "proud day"
- Disk access speedups, TTY improvements,
- virtual memory enhancements, multiple platform
- support, quotas
- Many performance improvements, new networking protocols,
- one of the fastest TCP/IP implementations in the world
There are tons of reading material on how to get started, some of which might interest you are:
The Linux Documentation Project (LDP) is writing a set of manuals and books about Linux, all of which are freely distributable on the net and available from the LDP home page.
To contribute linux related documents join the mailing list linux-doc@vger.rutgers.edu mailing list.
To: majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu
Subject: subject line is ignored
help
end
The Linux HOWTO Documents are part of the Linux Documentation Project (LDP) to help answer users common questions and issues.
For more information about HOWTOs, please refer to HOWTO-INDEX maintained by Tim Bynum, linux-howto@sunsite.unc.edu
Because of the great volume of documents out there, a couple years ago I wrote a simple script that will search all the HOWTOs, FAQ and mini-HOWTOs for keywords and phrases.
I keep a duplicate local copy of Sunsite's HOWTO at:
A simple grep based search engine is at:
Searching the HOWTO
There is an autofs mailing list at autofs@linux.kernel.org
Send email to majordomo@linux.kernel.org with "subscribe autofs" in the body of the email.
Add "end" as the second line if you have a signature file appended to your outgoing emails
From your email client:
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Subject: Subscribe to autofs Mailing list
subscribe autofs
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or if you are a command line type of user
echo "subscribe autofs" | elm -s "Subscribing to autofs" majordomo@linux.kernel.org
From your email client:
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Subject: Subscribe to autofs Mailing list
subscribe autofs
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or if you are a command line type of user
echo "unsubscribe autofs" | elm -s "Unsubscribing to autofs" majordomo@linux.kernel.org
From your email client:
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subscribe linux-net
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or if you are a command line type of user
echo "subscribe linux-net" | elm -s "Subscribing to linux-net" majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu
For more info, visit LDP at Linux NewsGroups
A well written networking HOWTO is NET-3-HOWTO written by Terry Dawson, terry@perf.no.itg.telecom.com.au
http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/NET-3-HOWTO.html
The Linux Network Administration Guide is Copyright (c) by Olaf Kirch has written a substantial document as part of the Linux Documentation Project and is freely available from the site.
You should also read the other HOWTO documents relevant to networking with Linux. They are:
If you are after some basic tutorial information on tcp/ip networking generally, then I recommend you take a look at the following documents:
Search Engines in the Linux Documents and Man Pages
The AutoFS HOWTO is maintained at http://www.Linux-Consulting.com/Amd_AutoFS
The NET-2/3-HOWTO is available at:
The Linux Network Administration Guide is copyright (c) by Olaf Kirch is freely available from various sites.
The book is published by SSC - Specialized System Consultants
Additional network related books are available from our friends at OReilly & Associates
An online Quick AutoFS Tutorial by Marc Neilsen