Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Forgetting the history of Unix is coding us into a corner [The Register] (www.theregister.com)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 71 points 8 months ago (16 children)

The point hinted at in the title is not part of this article. This is an overview of various versions and branches of UNIX, and nothing more.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 8 months ago (14 children)

At the end there's a little jab towards Wayland:

Today, the Wayland enthusiasts like to talk about how they are modernizing the Linux graphics stack. But Linux is a Unix, and in Unix, everything is meant to be a file. So any Wayland evangelists out there, tell us: where in the file system can I find the files describing a window on the screen under the Wayland protocol? What file holds the coordinates of the window, its place in the Z-order, its colour depth, its contents?

As far as I'm aware nobody has even considered extending the file metaphor to the graphics stack, and it sounds a bit ridiculous to me.

It also reminds me of this talk that suggests maybe trying to express everything as a file might not be the best idea...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

This was a great talk (video you linked, not the article). Wonder what Linus would say about C being a wrong thing today.

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