Introduction to Unix and Linux
1. Introduction to Unix and Linux Operating System
Unix is a powerful, multiuser, multitasking operating system originally developed in the 1970s.
Linux is an open-source Unix-like OS kernel created by Linus Torvalds in 1991. It forms the core of many
operating systems collectively called Linux distributions.
Both Unix and Linux are widely used in servers, development environments, and embedded systems due to
their stability, security, and flexibility.
2. Linux Distributions
Linux is packaged into distributions (distros), which bundle the Linux kernel with various software, package
managers, and desktop environments.
Examples:
- Ubuntu (user-friendly)
- Debian (stable)
- Fedora (cutting-edge)
- CentOS/RHEL (enterprise)
- Arch Linux (minimalist)
3. Linux Shell and Types of Shells
A shell is a command-line interface that lets users interact with the OS. It interprets and executes commands
entered by users.
Types of shells include:
- Bash (Bourne Again Shell)
- Sh (Bourne Shell)
- Csh (C Shell)
Introduction to Unix and Linux
- Ksh (Korn Shell)
- Zsh (Z Shell)
4. Linux Files, Directories, and Archives
a) Basic Commands:
- ls, cd, pwd, mkdir, rmdir, rm, cp, mv, touch, cat, more, less
b) File Attributes and Permissions:
Each file has permissions for Owner, Group, and Others: read (r), write (w), execute (x)
Commands: ls -l, chmod
c) Hard Link and Soft Link:
- Hard Link: ln file1 file2
- Soft Link: ln -s file1 linkname
d) Archiving and Compressing:
- tar -cvf archive.tar file1 file2
- gzip file.txt
- tar -czvf archive.tar.gz dir/