Linux Vs Windows
Linux is an
open-source Operating System. People can change codes and add programs to Linux
OS which will help use your computer better. Linux evolved as a reaction to the
monopoly position of windows. you can't change any code for windows OS.
You
can't even see which processes do what and build your onw extension. Linux
wants the programmers to extend and redesign it's OS. Linux user's can edit its
OS and design new OS.
All flavors of
Windows come from Microsoft. Linux come from different companies like LIndows ,
Lycoris, Red Hat, SuSe, Mandrake, Knopping, Slackware.
Linux is
customizable but Windows is not. For example,NASlite is a version of Linux that
runs off a single floppy disk and converts an old computer into a file server.
This ultra small edition of Linux is capable of networking, file sharing and
being a web server.
Linux is freely
available for desktop or home use but Windows is expensive. For server use,
Linux is cheap compared to Windows. Microsoft allows a single copy of Windows
to be used on one computer. You can run Linux on any number of computers.
Linux has hign
security. You have to log on to Linux with a userid and password. You can login
as root or as normal user. The root has full previlage.
Linux has a
reputation for fewer bugs than Windows.
Windows must boot
from a primary partition. Linux can boot from either a primary partition or a
logical partition inside an extended partition. Windows must boot from the
first hard disk. Linux can boot from any hard disk in the computer.
Windows uses a
hidden file for its swap file. Typically this file resides in the same
partition as the OS (advanced users can opt to put the file in another
partition). Linux uses a dedicated partition for its swap file.
Windows separates
directories with a back slash while Linux uses a normal forward slash.
Windows file names
are not case sensitive. Linux file names are. For example "abc" and
"aBC" are different files in Linux, whereas in Windows it would refer
to the same file.
Windows and Linux
have different concepts for their file hierarchy. Windows uses a volume-based
file hierarchy while Linux uses a unified scheme. Windows uses letters of the
alphabet to represent different devices and different hard disk partitions. eg:
c: , d: , e: etc.. while in linux " / " is the main directory.
Linux and windows
support the concept of hidden files. In linux hidden files begin with " .
", eg: .filename
In Linux each user
will have a home directory and all his files will be save under it while in
windows the user saves his files anywhere in the drive. This makes difficult to
have backup for his contents. In Linux its easy to have backup's.
