Frequently Asked Questions - Q: What Is Linux? - Q: Is Linux
Unix? - Q: Who Wrote Linux? - Q: How Is Linux Licensed? - Q: How
Does One Pronounce Linux? - Q: How Many People Use Linux? A: The
name "Linux" is used to refer to three similar yet slightly
different things, which can be confusing to all but the hardcore
geek. The three usages vary by how much of a complete software
system the speaker is talking about. At the lowest level, every
Linux system is based on the Linux kernel — the very low-level
software that manages your computer hardware, multi-tasks the
many programs that are running at any given time, and other such
essential things. These low-level functions are used by other
programs, so their authors can focus on the specific
functionality they want to provide. Without the kernel, your
computer is a very expensive doorstop. It has all of the
features of a modern operating system: true multitasking,
threads, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading,
shared, copy-on-write executables, proper