September 4th, 2020
Most of the people who are reading this blog might have never heard the word Linux in their life. Some might have heard it when people were talking about how almost 70% of servers run on Linux and it is the most powerful OS (Sorry to break the bubble, it is not a tool). Some people might have heard of it as an Operating System, and some might have already started working on their own projects and try creating their kernels or packages. If I have to explain to a newcomer who has never heard the word “Linux” or might have no idea what Linux is, my answer would be that it is an open source operating system (OS) just like Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s MacOS. Now you might get two questions about it: 1) Why do we need another operating system when we have two most powerful operating systems? and 2) What is open source?
Linux is very similar to other operating systems and as powerful as other ones, but the most unique thing about Linux is it is open source. You can get the Linux OS for free from various websites depending on the distribution and Kernel. It is open to everyone; you can edit, view and make your own changes which suits your problems. The other most unique thing about Linux is its interface: you can get both graphical interface (GUI) and command line interface (CLI) depending on what you like to prefer. If you are the person who likes to see things visually, you can set up the GUI or you can just learn the commands to make the tasks faster by using the CLI. I was a GUI until I completed my Linux System Administrator course, and as I am using more and more of CLI, I am getting really familiar with the commands and I can see how it makes my life much better.
So you might be thinking, we understand what Linux is and why we should use it but who uses this operating system and can a non-programmer use this OS? The answer is yes, I strongly believe everyone should use it because all the tools and softwares are free. But the other fascinating thing is you are already using Linux, but you have no idea you are using it. As most of the webpage runs on Linux, you are already using them without noticing. It doesn’t matter if you have used Linux or not or even if you are a programmer or not, please start using it as soon as possible. There are a lot of tutorials on how to download and install Linux on Google/YouTube. If you are beginning your Linux journey, start with Mint Linux or Ubuntu Linux, and if you are an experienced user, keep trying new kernels and distributions. This is just a beginning and there is a lot more to explore and learn in Linux, how Linux started, Unix vs. Linux and a lot more to explore. If you are really interested and if you are studying at UIC, come join Linux User Group!