The operating system is a very significant part of any machine as it runs it. All the computers that are general-purpose are supposed to have an operating system for accommodating other applications. The main duty of the operating system is to carry out basic functionalities. For example, when input is entered using a keyboard, it is displayed on the monitor screen; files and their directories that are stored are handled; peripheral devices such as printers are taken care of. When the size of an operating system increases, so do the duties of the operating system. The duty of the operating system is to take care of security. The machine is to be protected so that no outsider can access the data present in it.
Comparison Chart for Difference Between Windows and Linux
| Linux | Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | Its code can be accessed, so the programmers can change it if they find any weakness in it. | It is not open source, so its code cannot be accessed. |
| Customization | It has various customizations according to its users. | It does not have a lot of customized operating systems according to user requirements. |
| Command line | The command line is of great importance for programmers as a lot of tasks can be executed from there. | It has a command line but has to be accessed through the search or start menu. |
| Bug fixation | It has different levels, and one can stop at any one of them if he finds any bugs and can fix them using the GUI and command line. | If we figure out any issue with it, we have to fix it in the boot. |
| Support | It can support a lot of applications and websites. | It supports only simple websites when installed. |
| Installation of updates | It is up to the user to install any sort of update whenever he likes without turning the system off. | The system has to be restarted and can occur at very inconvenient times. |
| Security | It is well protected. | It is very vulnerable, as it can easily be hacked. |
Linux Introduction
Linux is one of the operating systems that is open source. It is primarily based on UNIX, which was first made in 1991. It is such software that controls the working of all other software on the machine. As it is open source, the users have the liberty to make changes in the code that suit them. This also has a GUI that contains some of the basic software that is to be used regularly, for example, an internet browser. As almost all of the web pages are generated using Linux, the main purpose is to use it as a server. It is used in various devices, for example, cameras, mobile phones, desktop computers, digital storage devices, video recorders, etc.
Working of Linux
Every operating system needs some standards for working. Similarly, Linux is based on Unix principles. The specialty of Linux is that it provides the user with two sorts of interfaces, i.e., a user interface and a kernel interface. They work with systems based on Unix, and in this way, they provide a lot of applications that can be used. Many elements that are separately developed can be part of a Linux operating system, which then forms a Unix system. This system is fully compatible and does not have copyrighted code.
For the sake of kernel performance in a Linux-based system, a traditional kernel is used. But it has a characteristic in its model that permits a lot of drivers to load and unload at runtime. Moreover, Linux ensures security. It helps in the protection of processes and can accommodate more than one user at a particular time. It also supports communication between processes with the help of memory sharing, message queues, and semaphore.
The Linux structure has different layers. One of them is the abstract layer. Its purpose is to keep a check on various files on the system. But on the user interface, they just appear to be a hierarchical directory tree. Linux supports file systems that are virtual, networked, or device-oriented. For accessing a disk, a page cache is used, which is bound to the system’s virtual memory. Page sharing and copy-on-write are used to minimize the number of duplicates of the data that is being shared between various processes. Linux has various versions. Among them, the latest is Ubuntu 17.10. The interface used by it is GNOME. And in the older versions, it was Ubuntu Unity.
Windows OS introduction
Like Linux, Windows is also a series of operating systems that are in more common use. It was developed by Microsoft. It is used in various applications, i.e., PCs. Every version of it has its own user interface. All of them have a desktop that allows the user to view various files. In 1985, its first version was announced. In the beginning, it had a plain user interface. It was basically an addition to the disk operating system. Then, in 1995, another version was released. It had integrated Windows, which had internet support internally. Its latest version is Windows 10. It is being used a lot currently. It uses a graphic user interface and has a hybrid kernel. The previous versions had micro-kernels.
Windows is an operating system that is licensed. It is not open source, so the user cannot change its code according to his own will. It was designed in such a way that it mainly targeted people who had no or little knowledge regarding computer programming, for different businesses, and for general commercial use. Windows has an interface that is easy to understand for the user, so it is pretty simple to use.
Windows has various advantages. Firstly, it allows for a lot of environments for operating. Moreover, it is extensible and portable. It can also be carried anywhere. It also allows the usage of virtual memory, caches, and different methods used for scheduling.
Linux vs Windows
Out of the two operating systems, Windows is used for commercial purposes as its code cannot be altered, whereas the other, i.e., Linux, is free of charge and is open source, so it is used by the programmers. Moreover, Linux is a more secure operating system than Windows. For Windows, it is supposed to boot on the primary partition, while Linux can be booted from anywhere. The directories can be partitioned in Windows, and they can be accessed using a slash, i.e., each directory is separated by a backslash.
On the other hand, they are accessed using forward slashes in Linux. While searching a specific file, alphabets can be upper or lower case, as Windows is not case-sensitive. While Linux is case-sensitive, A monolithic kernel is used in Linux, which occupies a lot of space for running. Whereas, in the Windows operating system, a microkernel is used, which takes up less space for running and is therefore less efficient.
Conclusion
Each operating system has its own pros and cons. So do Linux and Windows. If, on the one hand, Windows is user-friendly, it is to be purchased. On the other hand, Linux is open source and free of charge. It can also be changed according to the user. But it gets really difficult for people who have no programming knowledge. Windows is less reliable than Linux. The operating system has to be decided according to the needs of the user. Different operating systems are preferred with respect to the given situation.
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