<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
(	O
or	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
family	O
of	O
open-source	B-Application
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
based	O
on	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
an	O
operating	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
first	O
released	O
on	O
September	O
17	O
,	O
1991	O
,	O
by	O
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
typically	O
packaged	B-Application
as	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
,	O
which	O
includes	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
and	O
supporting	O
system	B-Application
software	I-Application
and	O
libraries	B-Library
,	O
many	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
provided	O
by	O
the	B-Application
GNU	I-Application
Project	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
use	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
"	O
in	O
their	O
name	O
,	O
but	O
the	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
uses	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
GNU/Linux	B-Application
"	O
to	O
emphasize	O
the	O
importance	O
of	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
software	O
,	O
causing	B-Application
some	I-Application
controversy	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popular	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
include	O
Debian	O
,	O
Fedora	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
latter	O
of	O
which	O
itself	O
consists	O
of	O
many	O
different	O
distributions	B-Application
and	O
modifications	O
,	O
including	O
Lubuntu	B-Application
and	O
Xubuntu	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commercial	O
distributions	B-Application
include	O
Red	O
Hat	O
Enterprise	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
and	O
SUSE	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
Enterprise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Desktop	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
include	O
a	O
windowing	B-Application
system	I-Application
such	O
as	O
X11	B-Operating_System
or	O
Wayland	B-Language
,	O
and	O
a	O
desktop	O
environment	O
such	O
as	O
GNOME	B-Application
or	O
KDE	B-Language
Plasma	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Distributions	B-Application
intended	O
for	O
servers	B-Application
may	O
omit	O
graphics	O
altogether	O
,	O
or	O
include	O
a	O
solution	B-Application
stack	I-Application
such	O
as	O
LAMP	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
freely	O
redistributable	O
,	O
anyone	O
may	O
create	O
a	O
distribution	O
for	O
any	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
for	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
based	O
on	O
the	O
Intel	B-Operating_System
x86	I-Operating_System
architecture	O
,	O
but	O
has	O
since	O
been	O
ported	O
to	O
more	O
platforms	O
than	O
any	O
other	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
dominance	O
of	O
the	O
Linux-based	O
Android	B-Application
on	O
smartphones	B-Application
,	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
including	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
has	O
the	O
largest	B-Operating_System
installed	B-Operating_System
base	I-Operating_System
of	O
all	O
general-purpose	B-General_Concept
operating	I-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
,	O
,	O
used	O
by	O
only	O
around	O
2.6	O
percent	O
of	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Chromebook	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
runs	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel-based	O
ChromeOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
dominates	O
the	O
US	O
K	O
–	O
12	O
education	O
market	O
and	O
represents	O
nearly	O
20	O
percent	O
of	O
sub-	O
$300	O
notebook	B-Device
sales	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
the	O
leading	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
on	O
servers	B-Application
(	O
over	O
96.4	O
%	O
of	O
the	O
top	O
1	O
million	O
web	O
servers	B-Application
 '	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
are	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
leads	O
other	O
big	B-Architecture
iron	I-Architecture
systems	O
such	O
as	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
,	O
and	O
is	O
used	O
on	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
world	B-Operating_System
's	I-Operating_System
500	I-Operating_System
fastest	I-Operating_System
supercomputers	I-Operating_System
(	O
since	O
November	O
2017	O
,	O
having	O
gradually	O
displaced	O
all	O
competitors	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
also	O
runs	O
on	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
,	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
devices	O
whose	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
is	O
typically	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
firmware	B-Application
and	O
is	O
highly	O
tailored	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
routers	B-Protocol
,	O
automation	B-Application
controls	O
,	O
smart	O
home	O
devices	O
,	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
consoles	I-Device
,	O
televisions	O
(	O
Samsung	B-Application
and	O
LG	O
Smart	B-Device
TVs	I-Device
)	O
,	O
automobiles	O
(	O
Tesla	O
,	O
Audi	O
,	O
Mercedes-Benz	O
,	O
Hyundai	O
and	O
Toyota	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
spacecraft	O
(	O
Falcon	O
9	O
rocket	O
,	O
Dragon	O
crew	O
capsule	O
and	O
the	O
Perseverance	O
rover	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
prominent	O
examples	O
of	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
software	I-License
collaboration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
source	O
code	O
may	O
be	O
used	O
,	O
modified	O
and	O
distributed	O
commercially	O
or	O
non-commercially	O
by	O
anyone	O
under	O
the	O
terms	O
of	O
its	O
respective	O
licenses	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
(	O
GPL	B-License
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
is	O
licensed	B-License
under	O
the	O
GPLv2	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
exception	O
for	O
system	B-Operating_System
calls	I-Operating_System
that	O
allows	O
code	O
that	O
calls	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
via	O
system	B-Operating_System
calls	I-Operating_System
not	O
to	O
be	O
licensed	B-License
under	O
the	O
GPL	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
was	O
conceived	O
and	O
implemented	O
in	O
1969	O
,	O
at	O
T	O
's	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
by	O
Ken	O
Thompson	O
,	O
Dennis	O
Ritchie	O
,	O
Douglas	O
McIlroy	O
,	O
and	O
Joe	O
Ossanna	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
released	O
in	O
1971	O
,	O
Unix	B-Application
was	O
written	O
entirely	O
in	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
as	O
was	O
common	O
practice	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1973	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
key	O
pioneering	O
approach	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
rewritten	O
in	O
the	O
C	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
by	O
Dennis	O
Ritchie	O
(	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
some	O
hardware	O
and	O
I/O	O
routines	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
availability	O
of	O
a	O
high-level	B-Language
language	I-Language
implementation	O
of	O
Unix	B-Application
made	O
its	O
porting	O
to	O
different	O
computer	O
platforms	O
easier	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
an	O
earlier	O
antitrust	O
case	O
forbidding	O
it	O
from	O
entering	O
the	O
computer	O
business	O
,	O
AT&T	O
licensed	B-License
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
's	O
source	O
code	O
as	O
a	O
trade	O
secret	O
to	O
anyone	O
who	O
asked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
Unix	B-Application
grew	O
quickly	O
and	O
became	O
widely	O
adopted	O
by	O
academic	O
institutions	O
and	O
businesses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1984	O
,	O
AT&T	O
divested	O
itself	O
of	O
its	O
regional	O
operating	O
companies	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
from	O
its	O
obligation	O
not	O
to	O
enter	O
the	O
computer	O
business	O
;	O
freed	O
of	O
that	O
obligation	O
,	O
Bell	O
Labs	O
began	O
selling	O
Unix	B-Application
as	O
a	O
proprietary	B-Application
product	O
,	O
where	O
users	O
were	O
not	O
legally	O
allowed	O
to	O
modify	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Onyx	O
Systems	O
began	O
selling	O
early	O
microcomputer-based	O
Unix	B-Application
workstations	O
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
,	O
founded	O
as	O
a	O
spin-off	O
of	O
a	O
student	O
project	O
at	O
Stanford	O
University	O
,	O
also	O
began	O
selling	O
Unix-based	O
desktop	O
workstations	O
in	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Sun	O
workstations	O
did	O
n't	O
utilize	O
commodity	O
PC	O
hardware	O
like	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
was	O
later	O
developed	O
for	O
,	O
it	O
represented	O
the	O
first	O
successful	O
commercial	O
attempt	O
at	O
distributing	O
a	O
primarily	O
single-user	O
microcomputer	O
that	O
ran	O
a	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
Unix	B-Application
increasingly	O
"	O
locked	O
in	O
"	O
as	O
a	O
proprietary	B-Application
product	O
,	O
the	B-Application
GNU	I-Application
Project	I-Application
,	O
started	O
in	O
1983	O
by	O
Richard	O
Stallman	O
,	O
had	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
creating	O
a	O
"	O
complete	O
Unix-compatible	O
software	O
system	O
"	O
composed	O
entirely	O
of	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
in	O
1985	O
,	O
Stallman	O
started	O
the	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
and	O
wrote	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
(	O
GNU	B-License
GPL	I-License
)	O
in	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
programs	O
required	O
in	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
(	O
such	O
as	O
libraries	B-Library
,	O
compilers	B-Language
,	O
text	B-Application
editors	I-Application
,	O
a	O
command-line	B-Application
shell	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
a	O
windowing	B-Application
system	I-Application
)	O
were	O
completed	O
,	O
although	O
low-level	O
elements	O
such	O
as	O
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
,	O
daemons	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
called	O
GNU	B-Application
Hurd	I-Application
,	O
were	O
stalled	O
and	O
incomplete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MINIX	B-Operating_System
was	O
created	O
by	O
Andrew	O
S	O
.	O
Tanenbaum	O
,	O
a	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
professor	O
,	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
1987	O
as	O
a	O
minimal	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
targeted	O
at	O
students	O
and	O
others	O
who	O
wanted	O
to	O
learn	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
principles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
complete	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
MINIX	B-Operating_System
was	O
freely	O
available	O
,	O
the	O
licensing	O
terms	O
prevented	O
it	O
from	O
being	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
until	O
the	O
licensing	O
changed	O
in	O
April	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
not	O
released	O
until	O
1992	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
legal	B-Operating_System
complications	I-Operating_System
,	O
development	O
of	O
386BSD	B-Operating_System
,	O
from	O
which	O
NetBSD	B-Device
,	O
OpenBSD	B-Operating_System
and	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
descended	O
,	O
predated	O
that	O
of	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
has	O
stated	O
on	O
separate	O
occasions	O
that	O
if	O
the	O
GNU	B-Application
kernel	I-Application
or	O
386BSD	B-Operating_System
had	O
been	O
available	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
(	O
1991	O
)	O
,	O
he	O
probably	O
would	O
not	O
have	O
created	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
attending	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Helsinki	O
in	O
the	O
fall	O
of	O
1990	O
,	O
Torvalds	O
enrolled	O
in	O
a	O
Unix	B-Application
course	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
course	O
utilized	O
a	O
MicroVAX	B-Device
minicomputer	O
running	O
Ultrix	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
required	O
texts	O
was	O
Operating	B-General_Concept
Systems	I-General_Concept
:	O
Design	O
and	O
Implementation	O
by	O
Andrew	O
S	O
.	O
Tanenbaum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
textbook	O
included	O
a	O
copy	O
of	O
Tanenbaum	O
's	O
MINIX	B-Operating_System
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
with	O
this	O
course	O
that	O
Torvalds	O
first	O
became	O
exposed	O
to	O
Unix	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1991	O
,	O
he	O
became	O
curious	O
about	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Frustrated	O
by	O
the	O
licensing	O
of	O
MINIX	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
limited	O
it	O
to	O
educational	O
use	O
only	O
,	O
he	O
began	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
his	O
own	O
operating	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
eventually	O
became	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
3	O
,	O
1991	O
,	O
in	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
implement	O
Unix	B-Application
system	I-Application
calls	O
,	O
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
attempted	O
to	O
obtain	O
a	O
digital	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
POSIX	O
standards	O
documentation	O
with	O
a	O
request	O
to	O
the	O
comp.os.minix	O
newsgroup	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
unsuccessfully	O
finding	O
the	O
POSIX	O
documentation	O
,	O
Torvalds	O
initially	O
resorted	O
to	O
determining	O
system	B-Operating_System
calls	I-Operating_System
from	O
SunOS	B-Operating_System
documentation	O
owned	O
by	O
the	O
university	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
operating	O
its	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
server	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
learned	O
some	O
system	B-Operating_System
calls	I-Operating_System
from	O
Tenenbaum	O
's	O
MINIX	B-Operating_System
text	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torvalds	O
began	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
on	O
MINIX	B-Operating_System
and	O
applications	O
written	O
for	O
MINIX	B-Operating_System
were	O
also	O
used	O
on	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
matured	O
and	O
further	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
development	O
took	O
place	O
on	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GNU	B-Operating_System
applications	O
also	O
replaced	O
all	O
MINIX	B-Operating_System
components	O
,	O
because	O
it	O
was	O
advantageous	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
freely	O
available	O
code	O
from	O
the	B-Application
GNU	I-Application
Project	I-Application
with	O
the	O
fledgling	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
;	O
code	O
licensed	B-License
under	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
GPL	I-License
can	O
be	O
reused	O
in	O
other	O
computer	O
programs	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
they	O
also	O
are	O
released	O
under	O
the	O
same	O
or	O
a	O
compatible	O
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torvalds	O
initiated	O
a	O
switch	O
from	O
his	O
original	O
license	O
,	O
which	O
prohibited	O
commercial	O
redistribution	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
GPL	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
worked	O
to	O
integrate	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
components	O
with	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
creating	O
a	O
fully	O
functional	B-Language
and	O
free	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
had	O
wanted	O
to	O
call	O
his	O
invention	O
"	O
Freax	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
portmanteau	O
of	O
"	O
free	B-Application
"	O
,	O
"	O
freak	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
x	B-Operating_System
"	O
(	O
as	O
an	O
allusion	O
to	O
Unix	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
Torvalds	O
considered	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
"	O
but	O
dismissed	O
it	O
as	O
too	O
egotistical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
facilitate	O
development	O
,	O
the	O
files	O
were	O
uploaded	O
to	O
the	O
FTP	B-Protocol
server	I-Protocol
(	O
ftp.funet.fi	O
)	O
of	O
FUNET	O
in	O
September	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ari	O
Lemmke	O
,	O
Torvalds	O
 '	O
coworker	O
at	O
the	O
Helsinki	O
University	O
of	O
Technology	O
(	O
HUT	O
)	O
who	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
volunteer	O
administrators	O
for	O
the	O
FTP	B-Protocol
server	I-Protocol
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
did	O
not	O
think	O
that	O
"	O
Freax	O
"	O
was	O
a	O
good	O
name	O
,	O
so	O
he	O
named	O
the	O
project	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
"	O
on	O
the	O
server	B-Application
without	O
consulting	O
Torvalds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
Torvalds	O
consented	O
to	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
newsgroup	B-Application
post	O
by	O
Torvalds	O
,	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
"	O
should	O
be	O
pronounced	O
(	O
)	O
with	O
a	O
short	O
'	O
i	O
 '	O
as	O
in	O
'	O
print	O
 '	O
and	O
'	O
u	O
 '	O
as	O
in	O
'	O
put	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
further	O
demonstrate	O
how	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
"	O
should	O
be	O
pronounced	O
,	O
he	O
included	O
an	O
audio	O
guide	O
with	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
source	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
this	O
recording	O
,	O
he	O
pronounces	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
as	O
(	O
)	O
with	O
a	O
short	O
but	O
close	O
front	O
unrounded	O
vowel	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
a	O
near-close	O
near-front	O
unrounded	O
vowel	O
as	O
in	O
his	O
newsgroup	B-Application
post	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adoption	O
of	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
in	O
production	O
environments	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
being	O
used	O
only	O
by	O
hobbyists	O
,	O
started	O
to	O
take	O
off	O
first	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
in	O
the	O
supercomputing	B-Architecture
community	O
,	O
where	O
organizations	O
such	O
as	O
NASA	O
started	O
to	O
replace	O
their	O
increasingly	O
expensive	O
machines	O
with	O
clusters	B-Architecture
of	O
inexpensive	O
commodity	O
computers	O
running	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commercial	O
use	O
began	O
when	O
Dell	O
and	O
IBM	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
,	O
started	O
offering	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
support	O
to	O
escape	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
monopoly	O
in	O
the	O
desktop	B-General_Concept
operating	I-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
systems	O
are	O
used	O
throughout	O
computing	O
,	O
from	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
to	O
virtually	O
all	O
supercomputers	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
have	O
secured	O
a	O
place	O
in	O
server	B-Application
installations	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
popular	O
LAMP	B-Application
application	O
stack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Use	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
in	O
home	O
and	O
enterprise	O
desktops	O
has	O
been	O
growing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
have	O
also	O
become	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
netbook	B-Device
market	O
,	O
with	O
many	O
devices	O
shipping	O
with	O
customized	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
installed	O
,	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
releasing	O
their	O
own	O
ChromeOS	B-Operating_System
designed	O
for	O
netbooks	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
's	O
greatest	O
success	O
in	O
the	O
consumer	O
market	O
is	O
perhaps	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
market	O
,	O
with	O
Android	B-Application
being	O
the	O
dominant	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
on	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
very	O
popular	O
on	O
tablets	B-Device
and	O
,	O
more	O
recently	O
,	O
on	O
wearables	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
is	O
also	O
on	O
the	O
rise	O
with	O
Valve	O
showing	O
its	O
support	O
for	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
and	O
rolling	O
out	O
SteamOS	B-Application
,	O
its	O
own	O
gaming-oriented	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
,	O
and	O
later	O
the	O
Steam	B-Device
Deck	I-Device
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
have	O
also	O
gained	O
popularity	O
with	O
various	O
local	O
and	O
national	O
governments	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
federal	O
government	O
of	O
Brazil	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Greg	O
Kroah-Hartman	O
is	O
the	O
lead	O
maintainer	O
for	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
and	O
guides	O
its	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
William	O
John	O
Sullivan	O
is	O
the	O
executive	O
director	O
of	O
the	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
in	O
turn	O
supports	O
the	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finally	O
,	O
individuals	O
and	O
corporations	O
develop	O
third-party	O
non-GNU	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
third-party	O
components	O
comprise	O
a	O
vast	O
body	O
of	O
work	O
and	O
may	O
include	O
both	O
kernel	B-Application
modules	I-Application
and	O
user	O
applications	O
and	O
libraries	B-Library
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
vendors	O
and	O
communities	O
combine	O
and	O
distribute	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
components	O
,	O
and	O
non-GNU	O
components	O
,	O
with	O
additional	O
package	B-Application
management	I-Application
software	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
developers	O
agree	O
that	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
was	O
not	O
designed	O
but	O
rather	O
evolved	O
through	O
natural	B-Application
selection	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torvalds	O
considers	O
that	O
although	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
Unix	B-Application
served	O
as	O
a	O
scaffolding	O
,	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
grew	O
with	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
mutations	O
–	O
and	O
because	O
the	O
mutations	O
were	O
less	O
than	O
random	O
,	O
they	O
were	O
faster	O
and	O
more	O
directed	O
than	O
alpha-particles	O
in	O
DNA.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Eric	O
S	O
.	O
Raymond	O
considers	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
's	O
revolutionary	O
aspects	O
to	O
be	O
social	O
,	O
not	O
technical	O
:	O
before	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
complex	O
software	O
was	O
designed	O
carefully	O
by	O
small	O
groups	O
,	O
but	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
evolved	O
in	O
a	O
completely	O
different	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bryan	O
Cantrill	O
,	O
an	O
engineer	O
of	O
a	O
competing	O
OS	O
,	O
agrees	O
that	O
"	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
was	O
n't	O
designed	O
,	O
it	O
evolved	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
considers	O
this	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
limitation	O
,	O
proposing	O
that	O
some	O
features	O
,	O
especially	O
those	O
related	O
to	O
security	O
,	O
cannot	O
be	O
evolved	O
into	O
,	O
"	O
this	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
biological	O
system	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
day	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
a	O
software	O
system.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Linux-based	O
system	O
is	O
a	O
modular	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
,	O
deriving	O
much	O
of	O
its	O
basic	O
design	O
from	O
principles	O
established	O
in	O
Unix	B-Application
during	O
the	O
1970s	O
and	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
a	O
system	O
uses	O
a	O
monolithic	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
handles	O
process	B-Operating_System
control	O
,	O
networking	O
,	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
peripherals	O
,	O
and	O
file	B-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
are	O
either	O
integrated	O
directly	O
with	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
or	O
added	O
as	O
modules	B-Application
that	O
are	O
loaded	O
while	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
running	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
userland	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
key	O
part	O
of	O
most	O
systems	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
with	O
Android	B-Application
being	O
the	O
notable	O
exception	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
GNU	B-Language
C	I-Language
library	I-Language
,	O
an	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	B-Language
C	I-Language
standard	I-Language
library	I-Language
,	O
works	O
as	O
a	O
wrapper	O
for	O
the	O
system	B-Operating_System
calls	I-Operating_System
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
necessary	O
to	O
the	O
kernel-userspace	O
interface	O
,	O
the	O
toolchain	B-Application
is	O
a	O
broad	O
collection	O
of	O
programming	O
tools	O
vital	O
to	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
development	O
(	O
including	O
the	O
compilers	B-Language
used	O
to	O
build	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
itself	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
coreutils	B-Application
implement	O
many	O
basic	O
Unix	B-Application
tools	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
GNU	I-Application
Project	I-Application
also	O
develops	O
Bash	B-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
popular	O
CLI	B-Application
shell	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
or	O
GUI	B-Application
)	O
used	O
by	O
most	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
systems	O
is	O
built	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
an	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
recently	O
,	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
community	I-Application
seeks	O
to	O
advance	O
to	O
Wayland	B-Language
as	O
the	O
new	O
display	O
server	B-Application
protocol	O
in	O
place	O
of	O
X11	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
other	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
projects	O
contribute	O
to	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Installed	O
components	O
of	O
a	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
system	O
include	O
the	O
following	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
bootloader	B-Application
,	O
for	O
example	O
GNU	B-Application
GRUB	I-Application
,	O
LILO	B-Application
,	O
SYSLINUX	B-Application
or	O
systemd-boot	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
a	O
program	O
that	O
loads	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
into	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
main	O
memory	O
,	O
by	O
being	O
executed	O
by	O
the	O
computer	O
when	O
it	O
is	O
turned	O
on	O
and	O
after	O
the	O
firmware	B-Application
initialization	O
is	O
performed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
init	B-Operating_System
program	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
traditional	O
sysvinit	O
and	O
the	O
newer	O
systemd	B-Application
,	O
OpenRC	B-Device
and	O
Upstart	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
process	B-Operating_System
launched	O
by	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
is	O
at	O
the	O
root	O
of	O
the	O
process	B-Operating_System
tree	O
:	O
in	O
other	O
terms	O
,	O
all	O
processes	O
are	O
launched	O
through	O
init	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Library
libraries	I-Library
,	O
which	O
contain	O
code	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
running	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
systems	O
using	O
ELF-format	O
executable	O
files	O
,	O
the	O
dynamic	B-Application
linker	I-Application
that	O
manages	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
dynamic	B-Application
libraries	I-Application
is	O
known	O
as	O
ld-linux.so	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
set	O
up	O
for	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
compile	B-Language
software	O
themselves	O
,	O
header	B-Language
files	I-Language
will	O
also	O
be	O
included	O
to	O
describe	O
the	O
programming	B-General_Concept
interface	I-General_Concept
of	O
installed	O
libraries	B-Library
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
software	B-Library
library	I-Library
on	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
systems	O
,	O
the	O
GNU	B-Language
C	I-Language
Library	I-Language
(	O
glibc	B-Language
)	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
numerous	O
other	O
libraries	B-Library
,	O
such	O
as	O
SDL	B-Operating_System
and	O
Mesa	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
C	B-Language
standard	I-Language
library	I-Language
is	O
the	O
library	O
needed	O
to	O
run	O
C	B-Language
programs	I-Language
on	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
GNU	B-Language
C	I-Language
Library	I-Language
being	O
the	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
,	O
alternatives	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
musl	B-Language
,	O
EGLIBC	B-Language
(	O
a	O
glibc	B-Language
fork	B-Application
once	O
used	O
by	O
Debian	O
)	O
and	O
uClibc	B-Language
(	O
which	O
was	O
designed	O
for	O
uClinux	B-Application
)	O
have	O
been	O
developed	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
last	O
two	O
are	O
no	O
longer	O
maintained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Android	B-Application
uses	O
its	O
own	O
C	B-Language
library	I-Language
,	O
Bionic	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Basic	O
Unix	B-Application
commands	I-Application
,	O
with	O
GNU	B-Application
coreutils	I-Application
being	O
the	O
standard	O
implementation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alternatives	O
exist	O
for	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
copyleft	B-License
BusyBox	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
BSD-licensed	O
Toybox	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Widget	B-Library
toolkits	I-Library
are	O
the	O
libraries	B-Library
used	O
to	O
build	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
(	O
GUIs	B-Application
)	O
for	O
software	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Numerous	O
widget	B-Library
toolkits	I-Library
are	O
available	O
,	O
including	O
GTK	B-Application
and	O
Clutter	B-Language
developed	O
by	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Application
Project	O
,	O
Qt	B-Language
developed	O
by	O
the	O
Qt	B-Language
Project	I-Language
and	O
led	O
by	O
The	O
Qt	B-Language
Company	O
,	O
and	O
Enlightenment	B-Library
Foundation	I-Library
Libraries	I-Library
(	O
EFL	O
)	O
developed	O
primarily	O
by	O
the	O
Enlightenment	B-Application
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
package	B-Application
management	I-Application
system	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
dpkg	B-Language
and	O
RPM	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alternatively	O
packages	O
can	O
be	O
compiled	B-Language
from	O
binary	O
or	O
source	O
tarballs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
User	B-Application
interface	I-Application
programs	O
such	O
as	O
command	B-Operating_System
shells	I-Operating_System
or	O
windowing	B-Application
environments	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
shell	B-Operating_System
,	O
is	O
either	O
a	O
command-line	B-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
CLI	B-Application
)	O
,	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
GUI	B-Application
)	O
,	O
or	O
controls	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
associated	O
hardware	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
common	O
for	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
desktop	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
default	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
is	O
usually	O
graphical	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
CLI	B-Application
is	O
commonly	O
available	O
through	O
terminal	B-Application
emulator	I-Application
windows	O
or	O
on	O
a	O
separate	O
virtual	B-Application
console	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
CLI	B-Application
shells	O
are	O
text-based	O
user	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
,	O
which	O
use	O
text	O
for	O
both	O
input	O
and	O
output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
dominant	O
shell	B-Operating_System
used	O
in	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
the	O
Bourne-Again	B-Operating_System
Shell	I-Operating_System
(	O
bash	B-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
originally	O
developed	O
for	O
the	B-Application
GNU	I-Application
Project	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
low-level	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
components	O
,	O
including	O
various	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
userland	B-Operating_System
,	O
use	O
the	O
CLI	B-Application
exclusively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CLI	B-Application
is	O
particularly	O
suited	O
for	O
automation	B-Application
of	O
repetitive	O
or	O
delayed	O
tasks	O
and	O
provides	O
very	O
simple	O
inter-process	B-Operating_System
communication	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
desktop	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
user	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
are	O
the	O
GUI	B-Application
shells	O
,	O
packaged	B-Application
together	O
with	O
extensive	O
desktop	O
environments	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
KDE	B-Language
Plasma	I-Language
,	O
GNOME	B-Application
,	O
MATE	B-Language
,	O
Cinnamon	B-Language
,	O
LXDE	B-Language
,	O
Pantheon	B-Operating_System
and	O
Xfce	B-Language
,	O
though	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
additional	O
user	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
exist	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
popular	O
user	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
are	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
,	O
often	O
simply	O
called	O
"	O
X	B-Operating_System
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
provides	O
network	B-General_Concept
transparency	I-General_Concept
and	O
permits	O
a	O
graphical	O
application	O
running	O
on	O
one	O
system	O
to	O
be	O
displayed	O
on	O
another	O
where	O
a	O
user	O
may	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
application	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
certain	O
extensions	O
of	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
are	O
not	O
capable	O
of	O
working	O
over	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
X	B-Operating_System
display	I-Operating_System
servers	I-Operating_System
exist	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
reference	O
implementation	O
,	O
X.Org	B-Operating_System
Server	I-Operating_System
,	O
being	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Server	B-Application
distributions	B-Application
might	O
provide	O
a	O
command-line	B-Application
interface	I-Application
for	O
developers	O
and	O
administrators	O
,	O
but	O
provide	O
a	O
custom	O
interface	O
towards	O
end-users	O
,	O
designed	O
for	O
the	O
use-case	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
custom	O
interface	O
is	O
accessed	O
through	O
a	O
client	O
that	O
resides	O
on	O
another	O
system	O
,	O
not	O
necessarily	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
based	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
types	O
of	O
window	B-Application
managers	I-Application
exist	O
for	O
X11	B-Operating_System
,	O
including	O
tiling	O
,	O
dynamic	B-Operating_System
,	O
stacking	B-Device
and	O
compositing	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Window	B-Application
managers	I-Application
provide	O
means	O
to	O
control	O
the	O
placement	O
and	O
appearance	O
of	O
individual	O
application	O
windows	O
,	O
and	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simpler	O
X	B-Application
window	I-Application
managers	I-Application
such	O
as	O
dwm	B-Language
,	O
ratpoison	B-Language
,	O
i3wm	B-Language
,	O
or	O
herbstluftwm	O
provide	O
a	O
minimalist	B-Device
functionality	O
,	O
while	O
more	O
elaborate	O
window	B-Application
managers	I-Application
such	O
as	O
FVWM	B-Device
,	O
Enlightenment	B-Application
or	O
Window	B-Application
Maker	I-Application
provide	O
more	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
built-in	O
taskbar	O
and	O
themes	B-Application
,	O
but	O
are	O
still	O
lightweight	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
desktop	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Desktop	O
environments	O
include	O
window	B-Application
managers	I-Application
as	O
part	O
of	O
their	O
standard	O
installations	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Mutter	B-Language
(	O
GNOME	B-Application
)	O
,	O
KWin	B-Language
(	O
KDE	B-Application
)	O
or	O
Xfwm	B-Device
(	O
xfce	B-Language
)	O
,	O
although	O
users	O
may	O
choose	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
different	O
window	B-Application
manager	I-Application
if	O
preferred	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wayland	B-Language
is	O
a	O
display	O
server	B-Application
protocol	O
intended	O
as	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
X11	B-Operating_System
protocol	O
;	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
received	O
relatively	O
wide	O
adoption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
X11	B-Operating_System
,	O
Wayland	B-Language
does	O
not	O
need	O
an	O
external	O
window	B-Application
manager	I-Application
and	O
compositing	B-Operating_System
manager	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
a	O
Wayland	B-Language
compositor	O
takes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
the	O
display	O
server	B-Application
,	O
window	B-Application
manager	I-Application
and	O
compositing	B-Operating_System
manager	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Weston	O
is	O
the	O
reference	O
implementation	O
of	O
Wayland	B-Language
,	O
while	O
GNOME	B-Application
's	O
Mutter	B-Language
and	O
KDE	B-Application
's	O
KWin	B-Language
are	O
being	O
ported	O
to	O
Wayland	B-Language
as	O
standalone	O
display	O
servers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enlightenment	B-Application
has	O
already	O
been	O
successfully	O
ported	O
since	O
version	O
19	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
currently	O
has	O
two	O
modern	O
kernel-userspace	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
for	O
handling	O
video	O
input	O
devices	O
:	O
V4L2	B-Application
API	B-General_Concept
for	O
video	O
streams	O
and	O
radio	O
,	O
and	O
DVB	B-Application
API	B-General_Concept
for	O
digital	O
TV	O
reception	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
complexity	O
and	O
diversity	O
of	O
different	O
devices	O
,	O
and	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
formats	O
and	O
standards	O
handled	O
by	O
those	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
,	O
this	O
infrastructure	O
needs	O
to	O
evolve	O
to	O
better	O
fit	O
other	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
a	O
good	O
userspace	B-Operating_System
device	O
library	O
is	O
the	O
key	O
of	O
the	O
success	O
for	O
having	O
userspace	B-Operating_System
applications	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
all	O
formats	O
supported	O
by	O
those	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
difference	O
between	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
and	O
many	O
other	O
popular	O
contemporary	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
is	O
that	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
and	O
other	O
components	O
are	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
software	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
not	O
the	O
only	O
such	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
although	O
it	O
is	O
by	O
far	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
software	I-License
licenses	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
principle	O
of	O
copyleft	B-License
,	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
reciprocity	O
:	O
any	O
work	O
derived	O
from	O
a	O
copyleft	B-License
piece	O
of	O
software	O
must	O
also	O
be	O
copyleft	B-License
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
common	O
free	B-License
software	I-License
license	I-License
,	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
(	O
GPL	B-License
)	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
copyleft	B-License
,	O
and	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
and	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
components	O
from	O
the	B-Application
GNU	I-Application
Project	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux-based	O
distributions	B-Application
are	O
intended	O
by	O
developers	O
for	O
interoperability	O
with	O
other	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
established	O
computing	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
systems	O
adhere	O
to	O
POSIX	O
,	O
SUS	O
,	O
LSB	B-Application
,	O
ISO	O
,	O
and	O
ANSI	O
standards	O
where	O
possible	O
,	O
although	O
to	O
date	O
only	O
one	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
has	O
been	O
POSIX.1	O
certified	O
,	O
Linux-FT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	B-Application
software	I-Application
projects	O
,	O
although	O
developed	O
through	O
collaboration	O
,	O
are	O
often	O
produced	O
independently	O
of	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fact	O
that	O
the	O
software	B-License
licenses	I-License
explicitly	O
permit	O
redistribution	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
provides	O
a	O
basis	O
for	O
larger-scale	O
projects	O
that	O
collect	O
the	O
software	O
produced	O
by	O
stand-alone	O
projects	O
and	O
make	B-Application
it	O
available	O
all	O
at	O
once	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
manage	O
a	O
remote	O
collection	O
of	O
system	B-Application
software	I-Application
and	O
application	O
software	B-Application
packages	I-Application
available	O
for	O
download	O
and	O
installation	O
through	O
a	O
network	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
adapt	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
their	O
specific	O
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Distributions	B-Application
are	O
maintained	O
by	O
individuals	O
,	O
loose-knit	O
teams	O
,	O
volunteer	O
organizations	O
,	O
and	O
commercial	O
entities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
distribution	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
the	O
default	O
configuration	O
of	O
the	O
installed	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
general	O
system	O
security	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
generally	O
integration	O
of	O
the	O
different	O
software	B-Application
packages	I-Application
into	O
a	O
coherent	O
whole	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Distributions	B-Application
typically	O
use	O
a	O
package	B-Application
manager	I-Application
such	O
as	O
apt	B-Application
,	O
yum	B-Application
,	O
zypper	O
,	O
pacman	O
or	O
portage	B-Application
to	O
install	O
,	O
remove	O
,	O
and	O
update	O
all	O
of	O
a	O
system	O
's	O
software	O
from	O
one	O
central	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
vendors	O
develop	O
and	O
fund	O
their	O
distributions	B-Application
on	O
a	O
volunteer	O
basis	O
,	O
Debian	O
being	O
a	O
well-known	O
example	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Others	O
maintain	O
a	O
community	O
version	O
of	O
their	O
commercial	O
distributions	B-Application
,	O
as	O
Red	O
Hat	O
does	O
with	O
Fedora	O
,	O
and	O
SUSE	O
does	O
with	O
openSUSE	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
cities	O
and	O
regions	O
,	O
local	O
associations	O
known	O
as	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
User	O
Groups	O
(	O
LUGs	O
)	O
seek	O
to	O
promote	O
their	O
preferred	O
distribution	O
and	O
by	O
extension	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
hold	O
meetings	O
and	O
provide	O
free	B-Application
demonstrations	O
,	O
training	O
,	O
technical	O
support	O
,	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
installation	O
to	O
new	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
Internet	O
communities	O
also	O
provide	O
support	O
to	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
users	O
and	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
distributions	B-Application
and	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
/	O
open-source	B-Application
projects	O
have	O
IRC	B-Protocol
chatrooms	O
or	O
newsgroups	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
forums	I-Application
are	O
another	O
means	O
for	O
support	O
,	O
with	O
notable	O
examples	O
being	O
LinuxQuestions.org	O
and	O
the	O
various	O
distribution	O
specific	O
support	O
and	O
community	O
forums	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
ones	O
for	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
,	O
Fedora	O
,	O
and	O
Gentoo	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
host	O
mailing	O
lists	O
;	O
commonly	O
there	O
will	O
be	O
a	O
specific	O
topic	O
such	O
as	O
usage	O
or	O
development	O
for	O
a	O
given	O
list	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
technology	O
websites	O
with	O
a	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
focus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Print	O
magazines	O
on	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
often	O
bundle	O
cover	O
disks	O
that	O
carry	O
software	O
or	O
even	O
complete	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
are	O
generally	O
available	O
without	O
charge	O
,	O
several	O
large	O
corporations	O
sell	O
,	O
support	O
,	O
and	O
contribute	O
to	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
components	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
and	O
of	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
analysis	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
in	O
2017	O
showed	O
that	O
well	O
over	O
85%	O
of	O
the	O
code	O
developed	O
by	O
programmers	O
who	O
are	O
being	O
paid	O
for	O
their	O
work	O
,	O
leaving	O
about	O
8.2	O
%	O
to	O
unpaid	O
developers	O
and	O
4.1	O
%	O
unclassified	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
major	O
corporations	O
that	O
provide	O
contributions	O
include	O
Intel	O
,	O
Samsung	B-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
AMD	O
,	O
Oracle	B-Application
and	O
Facebook	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
corporations	O
,	O
notably	O
Red	O
Hat	O
,	O
Canonical	O
and	O
SUSE	O
,	O
have	O
built	O
a	O
significant	O
business	O
around	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
free	B-License
software	I-License
licenses	I-License
,	O
on	O
which	O
the	O
various	O
software	B-Application
packages	I-Application
of	O
a	O
distribution	O
built	O
on	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
are	O
based	O
,	O
explicitly	O
accommodate	O
and	O
encourage	O
commercialization	O
;	O
the	O
relationship	O
between	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
as	O
a	O
whole	O
and	O
individual	O
vendors	O
may	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
symbiotic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
companies	O
also	O
offer	O
a	O
specialized	O
business	O
version	O
of	O
their	O
distribution	O
,	O
which	O
adds	O
proprietary	B-Application
support	O
packages	O
and	O
tools	O
to	O
administer	O
higher	O
numbers	O
of	O
installations	O
or	O
to	O
simplify	O
administrative	O
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
used	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
norm	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
industry	O
,	O
with	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
CP/M	B-Application
,	O
Apple	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
and	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
prior	O
to	O
7.6	O
freely	O
copyable	O
(	O
but	O
not	O
modifiable	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
programming	O
languages	O
support	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
either	O
directly	O
or	O
through	O
third-party	O
community	O
based	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
development	O
tools	O
used	O
for	O
building	O
both	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
applications	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
programs	O
are	O
found	O
within	O
the	O
GNU	B-Application
toolchain	I-Application
,	O
which	O
includes	O
the	O
GNU	B-Application
Compiler	I-Application
Collection	I-Application
(	O
GCC	B-Application
)	O
and	O
the	O
GNU	B-Application
Build	I-Application
System	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amongst	O
others	O
,	O
GCC	B-Application
provides	O
compilers	B-Language
for	O
Ada	B-Language
,	O
C	B-Language
,	O
C++	B-Language
,	O
Go	B-Application
and	O
Fortran	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
programming	O
languages	O
have	O
a	O
cross-platform	O
reference	O
implementation	O
that	O
supports	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
for	O
example	O
PHP	B-Application
,	O
Perl	B-Language
,	O
Ruby	B-Language
,	O
Python	B-Language
,	O
Java	B-Language
,	O
Go	B-Application
,	O
Rust	B-Application
and	O
Haskell	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
released	O
in	O
2003	O
,	O
the	O
LLVM	B-Application
project	O
provides	O
an	O
alternative	O
cross-platform	O
open-source	B-Application
compiler	B-Language
for	O
many	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proprietary	B-Application
compilers	B-Language
for	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
include	O
the	O
Intel	B-Language
C++	I-Language
Compiler	I-Language
,	O
Sun	B-Application
Studio	I-Application
,	O
and	O
IBM	B-Language
XL	I-Language
C/C	I-Language
++	I-Language
Compiler	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
BASIC	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
is	O
supported	O
in	O
such	O
forms	O
as	O
Gambas	B-Language
,	O
FreeBASIC	B-Language
,	O
and	O
XBasic	B-Language
,	O
and	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
terminal	O
programming	O
or	O
QuickBASIC	B-Language
or	O
Turbo	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
programming	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
QB64	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
feature	O
of	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
,	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
includes	O
traditional	O
specific-purpose	O
programming	O
languages	O
targeted	O
at	O
scripting	B-Language
,	O
text	O
processing	O
and	O
system	O
configuration	O
and	O
management	O
in	O
general	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
support	O
shell	B-Language
scripts	I-Language
,	O
awk	B-Application
,	O
sed	B-Application
and	O
make	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
regular	B-Language
expressions	I-Language
are	O
supported	O
in	O
programs	O
like	O
grep	B-Application
and	O
locate	B-Application
,	O
the	O
traditional	B-Application
Unix	I-Application
MTA	B-Protocol
Sendmail	B-Application
contains	O
its	O
own	O
Turing	B-Algorithm
complete	I-Algorithm
scripting	B-Language
system	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
advanced	O
text	B-Application
editor	I-Application
GNU	B-Application
Emacs	I-Application
is	O
built	O
around	O
a	O
general	O
purpose	O
Lisp	B-Language
interpreter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
distributions	B-Application
also	O
include	O
support	O
for	O
PHP	B-Application
,	O
Perl	B-Language
,	O
Ruby	B-Language
,	O
Python	B-Language
and	O
other	O
dynamic	B-Language
languages	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
not	O
as	O
common	O
,	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
also	O
supports	O
C#	B-Application
(	O
via	O
Mono	B-Application
)	O
,	O
Vala	B-Language
,	O
and	O
Scheme	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guile	O
Scheme	B-Language
acts	O
as	O
an	O
extension	B-Language
language	I-Language
targeting	O
the	B-Operating_System
GNU	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
utilities	O
,	O
seeking	O
to	O
make	B-Application
the	O
conventionally	O
small	O
,	O
static	O
,	O
compiled	B-Language
C	B-Language
programs	I-Language
of	O
Unix	B-Operating_System
design	I-Operating_System
rapidly	O
and	O
dynamically	O
extensible	O
via	O
an	O
elegant	O
,	O
functional	B-Language
high-level	O
scripting	B-Language
system	O
;	O
many	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
programs	O
can	O
be	O
compiled	B-Language
with	O
optional	O
Guile	O
bindings	B-Application
to	O
this	O
end	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
Java	B-Language
virtual	I-Language
machines	I-Language
and	O
development	O
kits	O
run	O
on	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
including	O
the	O
original	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
JVM	B-Language
(	O
HotSpot	B-Language
)	O
,	O
and	O
IBM	O
's	O
J2SE	O
RE	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
many	O
open-source	B-Application
projects	O
like	O
Kaffe	B-Language
and	O
Jikes	B-Language
RVM	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
GNOME	B-Application
and	O
KDE	B-Application
are	O
popular	O
desktop	O
environments	O
and	O
provide	O
a	O
framework	O
for	O
developing	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
projects	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
GTK	B-Application
and	O
Qt	B-Language
widget	B-Library
toolkits	I-Library
,	O
respectively	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
independently	O
of	O
the	O
larger	O
framework	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
Integrated	B-Application
development	I-Application
environments	I-Application
available	O
including	O
Anjuta	B-Language
,	O
Code::Blocks	B-Language
,	O
CodeLite	B-Language
,	O
Eclipse	B-Application
,	O
Geany	B-Language
,	O
ActiveState	B-Language
Komodo	I-Language
,	O
KDevelop	B-Language
,	O
Lazarus	B-Language
,	O
MonoDevelop	B-Language
,	O
NetBeans	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Qt	B-Language
Creator	I-Language
,	O
while	O
the	O
long-established	O
editors	O
Vim	B-Application
,	O
nano	B-Application
and	O
Emacs	B-Application
remain	O
popular	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
widely	O
ported	O
operating	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
available	O
for	O
devices	O
ranging	O
from	O
mobile	O
phones	O
to	O
supercomputers	B-Architecture
;	O
it	O
runs	O
on	O
a	O
highly	O
diverse	O
range	O
of	O
computer	B-General_Concept
architectures	I-General_Concept
,	O
including	O
ARM-based	O
Android	B-Application
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
Z	I-Device
mainframes	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specialized	O
distributions	B-Application
and	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
forks	B-Application
exist	O
for	O
less	O
mainstream	O
architectures	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
ELKS	B-Application
kernel	B-Operating_System
fork	B-Application
can	O
run	O
on	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8086	I-General_Concept
or	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80286	I-General_Concept
16-bit	B-Device
microprocessors	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
µClinux	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
fork	B-Application
may	O
run	O
on	O
systems	O
without	O
a	O
memory	B-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
unit	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
also	O
runs	O
on	O
architectures	O
that	O
were	O
only	O
ever	O
intended	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
manufacturer-created	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computers	O
(	O
with	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
,	O
Intel	O
,	O
and	O
Apple	B-Device
silicon	I-Device
processors	O
)	O
,	O
PDAs	B-Application
,	O
video	B-Device
game	I-Device
consoles	I-Device
,	O
portable	O
music	O
players	O
,	O
and	O
mobile	O
phones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
has	O
a	O
reputation	O
of	O
supporting	O
old	O
hardware	O
very	O
well	O
by	O
maintaining	O
standardized	O
drivers	O
for	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
industry	O
associations	O
and	O
hardware	O
conferences	O
devoted	O
to	O
maintaining	O
and	O
improving	O
support	O
for	O
diverse	O
hardware	O
under	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
such	O
as	O
FreedomHEC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
time	O
,	O
support	O
for	O
different	O
hardware	O
has	O
improved	O
in	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
any	O
off-the-shelf	O
purchase	O
having	O
a	O
"	O
good	O
chance	O
"	O
of	O
being	O
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
quantitative	O
studies	O
of	O
free/open	B-License
-source	I-License
software	I-License
focus	O
on	O
topics	O
including	O
market	O
share	O
and	O
reliability	O
,	O
with	O
numerous	O
studies	O
specifically	O
examining	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
market	O
is	O
growing	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
market	O
size	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
see	O
a	O
growth	O
of	O
19.2	O
%	O
by	O
2027	O
,	O
reaching	O
$15.64	O
billion	O
,	O
compared	O
to	O
$3.89	O
billion	O
in	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Analysts	O
and	O
proponents	O
attribute	O
the	O
relative	O
success	O
of	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
to	O
its	O
security	O
,	O
reliability	O
,	O
low	O
cost	O
,	O
and	O
freedom	O
from	O
vendor	O
lock-in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
web	O
server	B-Application
statistics	O
(	O
that	O
is	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
numbers	O
recorded	O
from	O
visits	O
to	O
websites	O
by	O
client	O
devices	O
)	O
,	O
,	O
the	O
estimated	O
market	O
share	O
of	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
on	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
is	O
around	O
2.5	O
%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
comparison	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
has	O
a	O
market	O
share	O
of	O
around	O
75.5	O
%	O
,	O
while	O
macOS	B-Application
covers	O
around	O
14.9	O
%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
W3Cook	O
publishes	O
stats	O
that	O
use	O
the	O
top	O
1,000,000	O
Alexa	O
domains	O
,	O
which	O
estimate	O
that	O
96.55	O
%	O
of	O
web	O
servers	B-Application
run	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
1.73	O
%	O
run	O
Windows	O
,	O
and	O
1.72	O
%	O
run	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
W3Techs	O
publishes	O
stats	O
that	O
use	O
the	O
top	O
10,000,000	O
Alexa	O
domains	O
and	O
the	O
top	O
1,000,000	O
Tranco	O
domains	O
,	O
updated	O
monthly	O
and	O
as	O
of	O
November	O
2020	O
estimate	O
that	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
used	O
by	O
39%	O
of	O
the	O
web	O
servers	B-Application
,	O
versus	O
21.9	O
%	O
being	O
used	O
by	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
40.1	O
%	O
used	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
Unix	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
IDC	O
's	O
Q1	O
2007	O
report	O
indicated	O
that	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
held	O
12.7	O
%	O
of	O
the	O
overall	O
server	B-Application
market	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
;	O
this	O
estimate	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
servers	B-Application
sold	O
by	O
various	O
companies	O
,	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
include	O
server	B-Application
hardware	O
purchased	O
separately	O
that	O
had	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
installed	O
on	O
it	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Android	B-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
has	O
become	O
the	O
dominant	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2022	O
,	O
71.9	O
%	O
of	O
smartphones	B-Application
accessing	O
the	O
internet	O
worldwide	O
used	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Android	B-Application
is	O
also	O
a	O
popular	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
for	O
tablets	B-Device
,	O
being	O
responsible	O
for	O
more	O
than	O
60%	O
of	O
tablet	B-Device
sales	O
as	O
of	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
web	O
server	B-Application
statistics	O
,	O
Android	B-Application
has	O
a	O
market	O
share	O
of	O
about	O
71%	O
,	O
with	O
iOS	B-Application
holding	O
28%	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
remaining	O
1%	O
attributed	O
to	O
various	O
niche	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
years	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
has	O
been	O
the	O
platform	O
of	O
choice	O
in	O
the	O
film	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
major	O
film	O
produced	O
on	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
servers	B-Application
was	O
1997	O
's	O
Titanic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
major	O
studios	O
including	O
DreamWorks	O
Animation	O
,	O
Pixar	O
,	O
Weta	O
Digital	O
,	O
and	O
Industrial	O
Light	O
&	O
Magic	O
have	O
migrated	O
to	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
Movies	O
Group	O
,	O
more	O
than	O
95%	O
of	O
the	O
servers	B-Application
and	O
desktops	O
at	O
large	O
animation	O
and	O
visual	O
effects	O
companies	O
use	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
have	O
also	O
gained	O
popularity	O
with	O
various	O
local	O
and	O
national	O
governments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
News	O
of	O
the	O
Russian	O
military	O
creating	O
its	O
own	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
has	O
also	O
surfaced	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
come	O
to	O
fruition	O
as	O
the	O
G.H.ost	O
Project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Indian	O
state	O
of	O
Kerala	O
has	O
gone	O
to	O
the	O
extent	O
of	O
mandating	O
that	O
all	O
state	O
high	O
schools	O
run	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
on	O
their	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
China	O
uses	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
exclusively	O
as	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
for	O
its	O
Loongson	B-Language
processor	O
family	O
to	O
achieve	O
technology	O
independence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Spain	O
,	O
some	O
regions	O
have	O
developed	O
their	O
own	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
,	O
which	O
are	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
education	O
and	O
official	O
institutions	O
,	O
like	O
gnuLinEx	O
in	O
Extremadura	O
and	O
Guadalinex	O
in	O
Andalusia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
France	O
and	O
Germany	O
have	O
also	O
taken	O
steps	O
toward	O
the	O
adoption	O
of	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
North	O
Korea	O
's	O
Red	O
Star	O
OS	O
,	O
developed	O
since	O
2002	O
,	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
Fedora	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
is	O
licensed	B-License
under	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
(	O
GPL	B-License
)	O
,	O
version	O
2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
GPL	B-License
requires	O
that	O
anyone	O
who	O
distributes	O
software	O
based	O
on	O
source	O
code	O
under	O
this	O
license	O
must	O
make	B-Application
the	O
originating	O
source	O
code	O
(	O
and	O
any	O
modifications	O
)	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
recipient	O
under	O
the	O
same	O
terms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
key	O
components	O
of	O
a	O
typical	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
are	O
also	O
mainly	O
licensed	B-License
under	O
the	O
GPL	B-License
,	O
but	O
they	O
may	O
use	O
other	O
licenses	O
;	O
many	O
libraries	B-Library
use	O
the	O
GNU	B-Application
Lesser	I-Application
General	I-Application
Public	I-Application
License	I-Application
(	O
LGPL	B-Application
)	O
,	O
a	O
more	O
permissive	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
GPL	B-License
,	O
and	O
the	O
X.Org	B-Operating_System
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
uses	O
the	B-License
MIT	I-License
License	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Torvalds	O
states	O
that	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
will	O
not	O
move	O
from	O
version	O
2	O
of	O
the	O
GPL	B-License
to	O
version	O
3	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2001	O
study	O
of	O
Red	O
Hat	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
7.1	O
found	O
that	O
this	O
distribution	O
contained	O
30	O
million	O
source	O
lines	O
of	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
study	O
,	O
if	O
all	O
this	O
software	O
had	O
been	O
developed	O
by	O
conventional	O
proprietary	B-Application
means	O
,	O
it	O
would	O
have	O
cost	O
about	O
to	O
develop	O
in	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
(	O
71%	O
)	O
was	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
C	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
but	O
many	O
other	O
languages	O
were	O
used	O
,	O
including	O
C++	B-Language
,	O
Lisp	B-Language
,	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
Perl	B-Language
,	O
Python	B-Language
,	O
Fortran	B-Application
,	O
and	O
various	O
shell	B-Language
scripting	I-Language
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slightly	O
over	O
half	O
of	O
all	O
lines	O
of	O
code	O
were	O
licensed	B-License
under	O
the	O
GPL	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
itself	O
was	O
2.4	O
million	O
lines	O
of	O
code	O
,	O
or	O
8%	O
of	O
the	O
total	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
the	O
name	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
trademark	O
registered	O
to	O
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
nobody	O
registered	O
it	O
,	O
but	O
on	O
August	O
15	O
,	O
1994	O
,	O
William	O
R	O
.	O
Della	O
Croce	O
,	O
Jr.	O
filed	O
for	O
the	O
trademark	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
then	O
demanded	O
royalties	O
from	O
Linux	B-Application
distributors	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
licensing	O
of	O
the	O
trademark	O
has	O
since	O
been	O
handled	O
by	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
Mark	O
Institute	O
(	O
LMI	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LMI	O
originally	O
charged	O
a	O
nominal	O
sublicensing	O
fee	O
for	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
name	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
trademarks	O
,	O
but	O
later	O
changed	O
this	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
offering	O
a	O
free	B-Application
,	O
perpetual	O
worldwide	O
sublicense	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
(	O
FSF	O
)	O
prefers	O
GNU/Linux	B-Application
as	O
the	O
name	O
when	O
referring	O
to	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
as	O
a	O
whole	O
,	O
because	O
it	O
considers	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
to	O
be	O
variants	B-Application
of	O
the	B-Operating_System
GNU	I-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
initiated	O
in	O
1983	O
by	O
Richard	O
Stallman	O
,	O
president	O
of	O
the	O
FSF	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
explicitly	O
take	O
no	O
issue	O
over	O
the	O
name	O
Android	B-Application
for	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
also	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
based	O
on	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
as	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
is	O
not	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
minority	O
of	O
public	O
figures	O
and	O
software	O
projects	O
other	O
than	O
Stallman	O
and	O
the	O
FSF	O
,	O
notably	O
Debian	O
(	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
sponsored	O
by	O
the	O
FSF	O
up	O
to	O
1996	O
)	O
,	O
also	O
use	O
GNU/Linux	B-Application
when	O
referring	O
to	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
as	O
a	O
whole	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
media	O
and	O
common	O
usage	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
refers	O
to	O
this	O
family	O
of	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
simply	O
as	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
,	O
as	O
do	O
many	O
large	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
SUSE	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
and	O
Red	O
Hat	O
Enterprise	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
contrast	O
,	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
containing	O
only	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
use	O
"	O
GNU/Linux	B-Application
"	O
or	O
simply	O
"	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
"	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Trisquel	B-Application
GNU/Linux	I-Application
,	O
Parabola	O
GNU/Linux	B-Application
-libre	O
,	O
BLAG	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
and	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
gNewSense	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
about	O
8%	O
to	O
13%	O
of	O
the	O
lines	O
of	O
code	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
(	O
version	O
"	O
Natty	O
"	O
)	O
is	O
made	O
of	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
components	O
(	O
the	O
range	O
depending	O
on	O
whether	O
GNOME	B-Application
is	O
considered	O
part	O
of	O
GNU	B-Operating_System
)	O
;	O
meanwhile	O
,	O
6%	O
is	O
taken	O
by	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
increased	O
to	O
9%	O
when	O
including	O
its	O
direct	O
dependencies	O
.	O
</s>