We have started this series of tutorials for Linux which is divided into two blog posts. Each one of them will cover basic concepts with practical examples. Also, we have provided the quiz on some of the topics that you can attend for free.
In the first part of the series, we will learn the following topics in detail
- Linux Operating System
- Linux Files & Process
- The Directory Structure
- Permissions
- Process
Introduction
Linux is a Unix like operating system. It is open source and free. We might sometimes use the word “Unix” instead of Linux.
A user can interact with Linux either using a ‘graphical interface’ or using the ‘command line interface’.
Learning to use the command line interface has a bigger learning curve than the graphical interface but the former can be used to automate very easily. Also, most of the server side work is generally done using the command line interface.
Linux Operating System
The operating system is made of three parts:
1. The Programs
A user executes programs. AngryBird is a program that gets executed by the kernel, for example. When a program is launched, it creates processes. Program or process will be used interchangeably.
2. The Kernel
The Kernel handles the main work of an operating system:
- Allocates time & memory to programs
- Handles File System
- Responds to various Calls
3. The Shell
A user interacts with the Kernel via the Shell. The console as opened in the previous slide is the shell. A user writes instructions in the shell to execute commands. Shell is also a program that keeps asking you to type the name of other programs to run.



