The alternative is to have a micro-kernel structure where the functional pieces of the kernel are broken out into separate units with strict communication mechanisms between them. If one process crashes it will not cause another process in the system to crash. Unquoted text is assumed to be a function …

Also, most OSS does not retire after a short period of time because collaborative open source development results in constant software improvement geared to the needs of the users. This software universe had been going on behind my back for years. Files may reside in any of these directories. There …

For example when user data is being written to the hard disk. ARP is not just restricted to ethernet devices, it can resolve IP addresses for other physical media, for example FDDI. One more thing, if you don't want your programming Linux distro to be devoid of systemd, there's an …

The code is supplied on CDROMs or other media with the executable program and/or it is made available for downloading from the Internet. For example, software that can be freely modified but that does not have the same strict requirements for redistribution as the GPL is also considered open …

The most common meaning for the term free software is programs whose source code is freely available to anyone to use for any purpose, including studying, copying, modifying, extending and giving away. This is an example of the meritocracy of Linux and open source being pulled into the mainstream, where …

Written originally for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) family of PDP microcomputers, this most popular of multi-user, general-purpose operating systems has taken over roles in all areas of computing -- even those once held by mainframes. Although, there's no rocket science in it. Because of the rarity of malware threats, there …

The numbers are different for an Alpha AXP Linux box. I am a composer, and one of the biggest hurdles for me in switching to exclusively Free Software was my sheet music typesetting software. The IDE subsystem registers IDE controllers and not disks with the Linux kernel. A common sector …

However, they seem to be forgetting that, while some action we make won't directly influence everybody, every action we make affects somebody. It is vital that we keep a philosophical approach so that our beliefs stand behind our actions. This instruction causes a switch into kernel space, the protected realm …

One obvious part of Linux is the kernel itself; but even that would be useless without libraries or shells. A lot of commands on the terminal will rely on you being in the right location. Another great quality of this dependable Linux distro for developers is its software delivery method …

If you desire to use Linux as an Internet Web server, you can simply recompile the Linux kernel to include only the support needed to be an Internet Web server. There is also a view that, regardless of the extent to which each of these approaches proves to be best …

In 1989 Stallman invented the concept of copyleft, which is aimed specifically at preventing any recurrence of the type of takeover of free software that had occurred earlier in that decade. You can also edit boot options on the fly from the GRUB menu. Time enough for a soapbox. Those …

As they are part of the Linux kernel they cannot use virtual memory. With every new iteration, Raspberry Pi mini-computer is getting more powerful. By opening the code to widespread examination, more people take part in finding its bugs and security flaws, in testing for broad compatibility across platforms, and …

You can do almost anything with it, including software installation, application and server configurations, file system management and much more. Think about other software you use everyday that is proprietary and apply the fact that you can't be sure what it is actually doing! Networking the critical aspects of a …

To make sure that even in a dual boot scenario office staff do not cling to their past desktop but acclimate quickly to the new desktop simply requires a "conversion plan." All of the employees know they will have a dual boot system that is fully functional for the first …

The first data written into the pipe is the first data read from the pipe. Like the rest of the kernel, device drivers use data structures to keep track of the device that it is controlling. These controllers are connected to the CPU and to each other by a variety …