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Linux is a Unix-like based computer operating system. It has been ported to a vast
variety of computer architectures.
The hardware is also incorporated into the file hierarchy. Device drivers interface to user
applications via an entry in the /dev directory. Process information as well is mapped to
the file system through the /proc directory.
It is interesting to note that Unix security systems were designed into the architecture.
Raw hardware devices are protected from direct access, and the file system has an inbuilt
security system giving individual access to files on three levels, user only, group
membership, and world access. Each category has read, executable and write flags that
may be set in any combination.itds same like the unix archchitecture
Today Linux is a module-loading monolithic kernel. Device drivers and kernel extensions
typically run in ring 0, with full access to the hardware, although some run in user space.
Unlike standard monolithic kernels, device drivers are easily configured as modules, and
loaded or unloaded while running the system. Also unlike standard monolithic kernels,
device drivers can be pre-empted under certain conditions. This latter feature was added
to handle hardware interrupts correctly, and to improve support for symmetric
multiprocessing. Preemption also improves latency, increasing responsiveness and
making Linux more suitable for real-time applications.
The complete source code of various versions of the Linux kernel can be browsed at
http://lxr.linux.no .
The complete source code of the latest versions of the Linux kernel can be downloaded
from http://www.kernel.org .
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