Mostly your teacher or interviewer is looking for that answer.īut deep down, understand the difference between the kernel and the operating system. So, if you are asked this question in viva or interview, reply with 'Linux is a kernel, not an operating system'. This is why purists insist on calling it GNU Linux so that people don't forget the contribution and importance of GNU in the success of Linux. Typically, your Linux distribution comes with all these GNU tools on top of the Linux kernel. The GNU project encompasses the reimplementation of popular UNIX tools and commands like ls, grep, sed, etc. On a similar line, you'll also come across statements like 'Linux is just a kernel, what you are referring to as Linux is actually GNU Linux".Įven before Linus Torvalds created Linux in 1991, Richard Stallman created the Free Software movement and the GNU project. If you liked the analogy, do read the article □ I have written an in-depth article with this analogy. You need shell and then other tools and components to use the operating system. Similarly, you cannot use the kernel directly. You need to have tires, steering, and other components to turn it into a car you can drive. You cannot drive an engine but you can also not drive a car without the engine. Kernel is the engine, OS is the carĪ better analogy is to think of the kernel as the engine of a car and the operating system as the car. And then you have applications, command line and graphical, to give you various ways of using the system. On top of that lies the shell that interacts with the kernel. The kernel is at the core interacting with the hardware. Here's the typical structure of an operating system: However, just like a heart needs a body to live in, the kernel needs other programs and tools to make a complete operating system that people can use on their computers. Your operating system cannot exist without a kernel. Think of the kernel as the heart of an operating system. The kernel is at the center of every operating system. He doesn't code anymore but supervises which code goes into the kernel. Even today, he works on the Linux kernel. Examples of popular Linux distributions include Ubuntu, Red Hat, and Debian.īack in 1991, what Linus Torvalds created was the kernel only. The technically correct term for this complete operating system is Linux distribution or simply Linux distro. However, the term Linux is often referred to a complete operating system that includes a shell (like bash) and command line and/or GUI tools to control the system. Well, technically, Linux is just a kernel, not an operating system. I'll answer those questions in this quick explainer. Is it a kernel? Is it an operating system? What's the difference between the two? Linux is just a kernelĪnd that made you curious. You may have heard this in a number of forums and discussions on the internet.
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