Windows vs Linux

Operating System and its kernel

Operating System (OS) A set of programs used by the computer to manage its resources
(CPU, memory, peripheral devices, etc.), It is loaded each time the computer is switched on.
Without the OS, you would not be able to use your computer or any program running on the
computer.
Kernel A set of essential routines used by the operating system to perform important system
tasks (such as managing the system memory or controlling disk operations). It plays an important
role as the bridge between hardware and software, coordinating the functions between software
and hardware and interaction with users.

Benefits of Linux
1. Freely available operating System
Linux is an operating system developed based on the open source concept (according to
GNU). That means that its source code is freely available for download, re-distribution, or
even modification.
2. Cross-platform
Linux can be installed on a wide variety of operating platforms, such as Intel x86, Alpha,
MIPS, PowerPC, and even SUN SPACR.
3. Multi-user, multi-tasking environment
Linux is a truly multi-user, multi-tasking operating system. It can support multiple user login
and operate as a multi-tasking system.
4. Support file system of different operating systems
Linux can recognize the file systems of most modern operating systems, such as the
FAT/FAT32 system used by MS Windows 9x; NTFS used by MS Windows NT/2000/XP;
HPFS used by HP-UX, ReiserFS, and EXT2/3 which is used in Linux.
5. Wide selection of free software
Not only is the Linux operating system free, but a lot of software which comes bundled with
it, is also given free to Linux users. There is a wide variety of software which can be used
to complete daily tasks, such as OpenOffice and KOffice for preparing documents and
spreadsheet; GIMP for manipulating graphics and photos; XMMS for playing MP3; Xine for
playing VCDs, and many more free software.

6. Graphical User Interface X Windows System

Unlike MS windows which offers only one graphical user interface, Linux, by default, gives
the user a choice from several graphical user interface. The most common will be KDE and
Gnome; both of these run on top of the X window System the Linux Window graphical
render engine!
7. Compatible with most modern hardware
Although Linux is relatively new in the operating system market, it offers wide support for
most modern hardware. You can set up a modem, or a printer, in no time at all. If there is no
ready driver, you can even compile one of you own, if you want!

Graphical User Interface (GUI) 2

Both Linux and Windows provide a GUI and a command line interface. The Windows GUI has
changed from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 (drastically) to Windows 2000 (slightly) to Windows
XP (fairly large) and is slated to change again with the next version of Windows, the one that
will replace XP. Windows XP has a themes feature that offers some customization of the look
and feel of the GUI.
Linux typically provides two GUIs, KDE and Gnome. See a screen shot of Lycoris and
Lindows in action from the Wal-Mart web site. The lynucs.org web site has examples of
many substantially different Linux GUIs. Of the major Linux distributions, Lindows has made
their user interface look more like Windows than the others. Here is a screen shot of Linux
made to look like Windows XP. Then too, there is XPde for Linux which really makes Linux
look like Windows. Quoting their web site "It's a desktop environment (XPde) and a window
manager (XPwm) for Linux. It tries to make easier for Windows XP users to use a Linux
box."
Mark Minasi makes the point (Windows and .NET magazine, March 2000) that the Linux GUI
is optional while the Windows GUI is an integral component of the OS. He says that speed,
efficiency and reliability are all increased by running a server instance of Linux without a
GUI, something that server versions of Windows can not do. In the same article he points
out that the detached nature of the Linux GUI makes remote control and remote
administration of a Linux computer simpler and more natural than a Windows computer.
Is the flexibility of the Linux GUI a good thing? Yes and No. While advanced users can
customize things to their liking, it makes things harder on new users for whom every Linux
computer they encounter may look and act differently.

File permissions notation

Textual representation like "-rwxr--r--"
It is used in Linux long directory listings. It consists of 10 characters. The first
character shows the file type. Next 9 characters are permissions, consisting of three
groups: owner, group, others. Each group consists of three symbols: rwx (in this
order), if some permission is denied, then a dash "-" is used instead. Example:
-rwxr--r-0123456789
Symbol in the position 0 ("-")is the type of the file. It is either "d" if the item
is a directory, or "l" if it is a link, or "-" if the item is a regular file.
Symbols in positions 1 to 3 ("rwx") are permissions for the owner of the file.
Symbols in positions 4 to 6 ("r--") are permissions for the group.
Symbols in positions 7 to 9 ("r--") are permissions for others.
r

Read access is allowed

w Write access is allowed

x

Execute access is allowed

Replaces "r", "w" or "x" if according access type is denied

2.1.1. Examples

-rwxr-xr-x

File,
owner has read, write, execute permissions,
group: only read and execute permissions,
others: only read and execute permissions.

dr-x------

Directory,
owner has read and execute access,
group and others have no access

The chmod Command

We use the chmod command to change the access mode of a file. This command
comes in many flavors, but we'll be talking primarily about one of them.
chmod who=permissions filename
This gives who the specified permissions for a given filename.

Who
The who is a list of letters that specifies whom youre going to be giving
permissions to. These may be specified in any order.
Letter

Meaning

The user who owns the file (this means you.)

The group the file belongs to.

The other users

all of the above (an abbreviation for ugo)

Permissions
Of course, the permissions are the same letters that you see in the directory listing:
r

Permission to read the file.

Permission to write the file.

Permission to execute the file, or, in the case of a directory, search it.

Note: Do not put blanks around the equal sign, or your command will not work!

chmod

Examples

Lets change some of the permissions as we discussed a couple of pages ago. Heres
the way our files are now:
-rwxr-xr-x
-rw-rw-r--rw-rw-r--rw-r--r-drwxrwxr-x
-rw-r-----rwxr-xr-x

joe
joe
joe
joe
joe
joe
joe

acctg
acctg
acctg
acctg
acctg
acctg
acctg

archive.sh
orgchart.gif
personnel.txt
publicity.html
sales
topsecret.inf
wordmatic

First, lets prevent outsiders from executing archive.sh

Before:

-rwxr-xr-x

archive.sh

Command: chmod o=r archive.sh

After:

-rwxr-xr--

archive.sh

Take away all permissions for the group for topsecret.inf We do this by leaving the
permissions part of the command empty.
Before:

-rw-r-----

topsecret.inf

Command: chmod g= topsecret.inf

After:

-rw-------

topsecret.inf

Open up publicity.html for reading and writing by anyone.

Before:

-rw-r--r--

publicity.html

Command: chmod og=rw publicity.html

After:

-rw-rw-rw-

publicity.html

Websites:
1. Tan Ser Heang, (2004), A fundamental guide to LINUX, Federal Publication
Sdn.Bhd., ISBN 983-58-0956-9
2. http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/Linux.vs.Windows.html
3. http://catcode.com/teachmod/