A guide to Linux and Unix
Why are Linux and Unix particularly useful operating systems? There are plenty of reasons – one of the chief ones is compatibility. Linux and Unix are two of the most commonly used operating systems on the internet, and if you are putting up a web server or some kind of computer which is going to be connected to the internet and used by people on the internet then using Linux and / or Unix is a great way to ensure that you will be able to have your computer system perform the kinds of communications that you need it to. All kinds of internet software, such as web server software, FTP server software, database software and more, are compatible with Linux.
Linux and Unix are also very useful to you if you want to set up some kind of server which has to be highly reliable. For example, say you are putting up a database server for a company and the employees of the company need to have access to the information in the database 24/7 – you want to choose the most reliable operating system that you can so that you can provide the people who need that information with consistent uptime. Linux and Unix are good when it comes to this – in Unix’s case it is because it has been under development for a very long time and most of the bugs which could create problems with the system have been ironed out by now. In the case of Linux the operating system is stable compared to others because of the open source software development process that it was born out of. Both of these processes of development have led to operating system software which you can rely upon to stay up consistently and not to crash when you need a system running.
You will also find that Linux and Unix are useful operating systems because it is easy for you to get a copy of either one of them and learn how to use them. Unix has a certain fee associated with its use, but Linux on the other hand is totally free – you can download Linux and install it on as many computer systems as you want and not have to pay anything to anyone. This makes Linux a very handy operating system for businesses which want to set up computers with internet access without paying a lot of money for software. You can also download many different versions of Linux from sites all over the internet, and you can learn about how to run Linux and Unix from sites all over the net – there are lots of manuals, forums and gurus who will be happy to help you, all without charging a dime!
The online community which helps to support users of Unix and Linux make them two of the most useful operating systems that you can choose, and when you combine this kind of community support with all of the other features that make these systems handy, it’s no surprise that they are among the most popular online!
