What is the history of Linux?

Linux is the family of Unix-like computer operating systems that uses the Linux kernel. Linux can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware systems, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers, routers and video game consoles, to desktop computers, mainframes and supercomputers. This article looks at the history of the company, and provides you with an overview on how it has developed to become the company that it is today.

The beginnings

Linux is a leading server operating system, and runs the ten fastest supercomputers in the world. The Linux operating system was conceived and implemented in 1969 at At & T Bell Laboratories in the U.S. by a series of composers. It was first released in 1971, and was initially entirely written in assembly language which was a common practice at the time.
Developments Later, in a key pioneering approach in 1973, Linux was re-written in the programming language by Dennis Ritchie. The availability of an operating system written in a high-level language allowed easier portability to different computer platforms. With a legal glitch forcing AT&T to license the operating system's source code to anyone who asked for it, Linux quickly grew and became widely adopted by academic institutions and businesses. In 1984, AT&T divested itself of Bell Labs. Free of the legal glitch requiring free licensing, Bell Labs began selling Linux as a proprietary product.

GNU

The GNU project was started in 1983, and had the goal of creating a "complete Unix-compatible software system" composed entirely of free Linux software. The work began in 1984 and later, in 1985, Stallman started the free software foundation and wrote the GNU public license in 1989. By the early 1990s, many of the programs required in an operating system were completed, although low-level elements such as the device drivers, daemons and kernel were stalled and incomplete.

Linux today

The development of Linux is one of the most prominent examples of a free and an open source collaboration. Typically, all of the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed, both commercially and non-commercially, by anyone under licenses. Generally, Linux is packaged in a format known as a Linux distribution for desktop and server use.