First came Unix, the operating system. Then came the
server software Apache, then came the scripting
language Perl, and the browser Mozilla, now adopted
by Netscape and adapted into Gecko. Lastly comes
Linux, a version of Unix written by a Finnish
graduate student and available before either Apache
or Perl (1991), but only recently gaining notice.
All of these are "open source code," which means
that not only are they are freely available over the
Internet, their code is available as well, so that
programmers over the world can tinker with it.
Positive changes are adapted into the source code
and everyone benefits. The hippie-ish,
anti-capitalist idea of disseminating your work for
free doesn't sit well with some people, particularly
the überlords at Microsoft, who have gone to great
lengths to keep their Windows source code a secret.
Other companies, however, have given open source
coding an in, particularly Netscape, Sun, Oracle,
Corel, and even buttoned-down IBM. The future of
open source coding looks bright, particularly since
there are so many grass-roots proponents out there.
Sites to surf: www.opensource.org/,
www.apache.org/, www.mozilla.org/, www.linux.org/,
www.perl.org/, www.slashdot.org/, www.fsf.org/,
opensource.oreilly.com/, www.kernel.org/,
www.newsforge.com/, and metalab.unc.edu/LDP/.
Other Linux distributors are Red Hat (an old and
trusted distributor; www.redhat.com/),
Caldera OpenLinux (easy installation, primarily
business-focused; www.caldera.com/), Debian
(no direct marketing, but available online for less
than $5; www.debian.org/), Linux-Mandrake
(offshoot of RedHat, now fully standalone and very
user-friendly; available through MacMillan for $29
with additional tools; www.mandrakesoft.com/),
Slackware Linux (the original distributor, "by
hackers, for hackers;" www.slackware.com/),
Corel's variety of Linux for Windows users (easy
installation; linux.corel.com/), SuSE Linux
7.2 (German distributor who loads buyers up with 6
CDs worth of free apps; www.try.suse.com/),
and TurboLinux (Asian distributor, becoming popular
with Western IT pros; www.turbolinux.com/). A
good place to keep up with the various flavors of
Linux is at www.distrowatch.com/. Several
Linux providers are rallying around a single Linux
platform: Caldera, Connectiva, SuSe, and Turbolinux
are working together to provide what is now labeled
United Linux, in an apparent move to challenge
RedHat's supremacy. Read up on it at
www.unitedlinux.com/. Want to really flex your
muscles? Build your own Linux from the ground up at
www.linuxfromscratch.org.
First came Unix, the operating system. Then came the
server software Apache, then came the scripting
language Perl, and the browser Mozilla, now adopted
by Netscape and adapted into Gecko. Lastly comes
Linux, a version of Unix written by a Finnish
graduate student and available before either Apache
or Perl (1991), but only recently gaining notice.
All of these are "open source code," which means
that not only are they are freely available over the
Internet, their code is available as well, so that
programmers over the world can tinker with it.
Positive changes are adapted into the source code
and everyone benefits. The hippie-ish,
anti-capitalist idea of disseminating your work for
free doesn't sit well with some people, particularly
the überlords at Microsoft, who have gone to great
lengths to keep their Windows source code a secret.
Other companies, however, have given open source
coding an in, particularly Netscape, Sun, Oracle,
Corel, and even buttoned-down IBM. The future of
open source coding looks bright, particularly since
there are so many grass-roots proponents out there.
Sites to surf: www.opensource.org/,
www.apache.org/, www.mozilla.org/, www.linux.org/,
www.perl.org/, www.slashdot.org/, www.fsf.org/,
opensource.oreilly.com/, www.kernel.org/,
www.newsforge.com/, and metalab.unc.edu/LDP/.
Other Linux distributors are Red Hat (an old and
trusted distributor; www.redhat.com/),
Caldera OpenLinux (easy installation, primarily
business-focused; www.caldera.com/), Debian
(no direct marketing, but available online for less
than $5; www.debian.org/), Linux-Mandrake
(offshoot of RedHat, now fully standalone and very
user-friendly; available through MacMillan for $29
with additional tools; www.mandrakesoft.com/),
Slackware Linux (the original distributor, "by
hackers, for hackers;" www.slackware.com/),
Corel's variety of Linux for Windows users (easy
installation; linux.corel.com/), SuSE Linux
7.2 (German distributor who loads buyers up with 6
CDs worth of free apps; www.try.suse.com/),
and TurboLinux (Asian distributor, becoming popular
with Western IT pros; www.turbolinux.com/). A
good place to keep up with the various flavors of
Linux is at www.distrowatch.com/. Several
Linux providers are rallying around a single Linux
platform: Caldera, Connectiva, SuSe, and Turbolinux
are working together to provide what is now labeled
United Linux, in an apparent move to challenge
RedHat's supremacy. Read up on it at
www.unitedlinux.com/. Want to really flex your
muscles? Build your own Linux from the ground up at
www.linuxfromscratch.org.