Linux kernel

Linux kernel
Original author(s)Linus Torvalds
Developer(s)Community contributors
Linus Torvalds
Initial release0.02 (5 October 1991; 33 years ago (1991-10-05))
Stable release
6.11.8[2] Edit this on Wikidata / 14 November 2024
Preview release
6.12-rc7[3] Edit this on Wikidata / 10 November 2024
Repository
Written inC (C11 since 5.18, C89 before),[4]
Rust (since 6.1),[5]
Assembly language
Available inEnglish
LicenseGPL-2.0-only with Linux-syscall-note[6][7][8][a]
Websitewww.kernel.org Edit this on Wikidata

The Linux kernel is a free and open source,[12]: 4  UNIX-like kernel that is used in many computer systems worldwide. The kernel was created by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU operating system (OS) which was created to be a free replacement for Unix. Since the late 1990s, it has been included in many operating system distributions, many of which are called Linux. One such Linux kernel operating system is Android which is used in many mobile and embedded devices.

Most of the kernel code is written in C as supported by the GNU compiler collection (GCC) which has extensions beyond standard C.[12]: 18 [13] The code also contains assembly code for architecture-specific logic such as optimizing memory use and task execution.[12]: 379–380  The kernel has a modular design such that modules can be integrated as software components – including dynamically loaded. The kernel is monolithic in an architectural sense since the entire OS runs in kernel space.

Linux is provided under the GNU General Public License version 2, although it contains files under other compatible licenses.[11]

  1. ^ "Linux Logos and Mascots". Linux Online. 2008. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  2. ^ Greg Kroah-Hartman (14 November 2024). "Linux 6.11.8". Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  3. ^ Linus Torvalds (10 November 2024). "Linux 6.12-rc7". Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  4. ^ Bergmann, Arnd (3 March 2022). "Kbuild: move to -std=gnu11". git.kernel.org.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference rust was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference COPYING_File was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "GPL-2.0-only". spdx.org. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Linux-syscall-note". spdx.org. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  9. ^ "GPL-2.0". git.kernel.org.
  10. ^ "Linux-syscall-note". git.kernel.org.
  11. ^ a b "Linux kernel licensing rules — The Linux Kernel documentation". www.kernel.org. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Love, Robert (2010). Linux kernel development (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0-672-32946-3. OCLC 268788260.
  13. ^ "C Extensions (Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC))". gcc.gnu.org. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.


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