How Many People Use Linux?

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This article is from the Frequently Asked Questions for Linux, the Free/Open Source UNIX-like operating system kernel that runs on many modern computer systems. Maintained by David C. Merrill with numerous contributions by others. (v1.0).
A: Linux is freely available, and no one is required to register with any central authority, so it is difficult to know. Several businesses survive solely on selling and supporting Linux. Linux newsgroups are some of the most heavily read on Usenet. Accurate numbers are hard to come by, but the number is almost certainly in the millions.

However, people can register as Linux users at the Linux Counter project, which has been in existence since 1993. In May of 2003 the project counted more than 134,000 users, but that is certainly only a small fraction of all users. The operator of the Linux Counter estimated 18 million users, as of May 2003.

Visit the Web site at http://counter.li.org/ and fill in the registration form.

The current count is posted monthly to news:comp.os.linux.misc, and is always available from the Web site.

[Harald Tveit Alvestrand]

A: In 1999, International Data Corporation released its first commercial forecast of Linux sales. The report quantifies Linux vendor sales in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and forecasts through the year 2003.

To obtain the report, contact IDC at ctoffel@idc.com. Their Web site is http: //www.itresearch.com/.

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What Is Linux?

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This article is from the Frequently Asked Questions for Linux, the Free/Open Source UNIX-like operating system kernel that runs on many modern computer systems. Maintained by David C. Merrill with numerous contributions by others. (v1.0).
A: The name "Linux" is used to refer to three similar yet slightly different things, which can be confusing to all but the hardcore geek. The three usages vary by how much of a complete software system the speaker is talking about.

At the lowest level, every Linux system is based on the Linux kernel ?? the very low-level software that manages your computer hardware, multi-tasks the many programs that are running at any given time, and other such essential things. These low-level functions are used by other programs, so their authors can focus on the specific functionality they want to provide. Without the kernel, your computer is a very expensive doorstop. It has all of the features of a modern operating system: true multitasking, threads, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, shared, copy-on-write executables, proper memory management, loadable device driver modules, video frame buffering, and TCP/IP networking.

Most often, the name "Linux" is used to refer to the Linux Operating System. An OS includes the kernel, but also adds various utilities ?? the kinds of programs you need to get anything done. For example, it includes a shell (the program that provides a command prompt and lets you run programs), a program to copy files, a program to delete files, and many other odds and ends. Some people honor the request of Richard Stallman and the GNU Project, and call the Linux OS GNU/Linux, because a good number of these utility programs were written by the GNU folks.

Finally, software companies (and sometimes volunteer groups) add on lots of extra software, like the XFree86 X Window System, Gnome, KDE, games and many other applications. These software compilations which are based on the Linux OS are called Linux distributions.

So, there are three Linuxes: the Linux kernel, the Linux OS, and the various Linux distributions. Most people, however, refer to the operating system kernel, system software, and application software, collectively, as "Linux", and that convention is used in this FAQ as well.

See also the Wikipedia articles on the Linux kernel and the Linux operating system.

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Asking Questions and Sending Comments

Description

This article is from the Frequently Asked Questions for Linux, the Free/Open Source UNIX-like operating system kernel that runs on many modern computer systems. Maintained by David C. Merrill with numerous contributions by others. (v1.0).

002. Asking Questions and Sending Comments

If you have any comments, or if you have a question about Linux that was not answered here, feel free to send it to the maintainer: david -AT- lupercalia.net. Place the letters FAQ in the subject of your message.

I won't guarantee to answer all questions, but I'll answer as many as I can. Questions that I receive repeatedly will be added to the FAQ. If you wish to refer to a question in the FAQ, please include the title of the question in your email.

If you have an addition to the FAQ, by all means send it. Contributions may be in any format, but I prefer comments in English to patch files. Context diff is not my first language.

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Linux FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Linux .This FAQ is currently compiled and maintained by David Merrill, with assistance and comments from Linux users all over the world. Over the years it has passed through several hands, and I'd like to recognize all the folks who have worked on it.
In addition to those of us who have been official maintainers, the FAQ is full of individual contributions. The name of the contributor is listed along with the contribution.Special thanks are due to Matt Welsh, who moderated news: comp.os.linux.announce and news:comp.os.linux.answers, coordinated the HOWTO's and wrote substantial portions of many of them, Greg Hankins the former Linux Documentation Project HOWTO maintainer, Lars Wirzenius and Mikko Rauhala, the former and current moderators of news:comp.os.linux.announce, Marc-Michel Corsini, who wrote the original Linux FAQ, and Ian Jackson, the previous FAQ maintainer. Thanks also to Roman Maurer for his many updates and additions, especially with European Web sites, translations, and general miscellany.

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