What is new in Linux

[sathish.k]

Linux kernel:
The Linux kernel is the operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software.

The Linux kernel is released under the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2) (plus some firmware images with various non-free licenses), and is developed by contributors worldwide. Day-to-day development discussions take place on the Linux kernel mailing list.

The Linux kernel was initially conceived and created by Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds in 1991. Linux rapidly accumulated developers and users who adapted code from other free software projects for use with the new operating system. The Linux kernel has received contributions from thousands of programmers. Many Linux distributions have been released based upon the Linux kernel.

Latest relase of Linux kernel 3.4:

From Linux 3.4, kernels that are compiled for x86-64/x64 processors can offer an "x32" ABI (Application Binary Interface) to programs (1 and others). Programs compiled for this ABI can access the 64-bit registers and data paths of 64-bit processors, but they only use 32-bit pointers – which are sufficient for many typical tasks and use less memory than 64-bit pointers. Broadly speaking, this allows programs that are compiled for the x32 ABI to avoid the overhead that comes with full 64-bit operation while enabling them to benefit from some of the major advantages of 64-bit x86 processors. The new ABI appears to be intended predominantly for the embedded and mobile markets, as most of the programs used in this area are unlikely to require more than 4GB of memory, or they will gain enough from using 64-bit pointers elsewhere to compensate for the increased memory consumption of full 64-bit operation.

[christykunjumon]

Thanks Sathish for starting new thread about Linux, I think the administrator must create a new category for Open Source Software's.

[sathish.k]

The following is a list of about 100 of the best OpenSource Applications, that actually help make Linux more usable for people.