컴퓨터 입문 - Linux 중심

A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data. You may already know that you can use a computer to type documents, send email, play games, and browse the Web. You can also use it to edit or create spreadsheets, presentations, and even videos.

Hardware is any part of your computer that has a physical structure, such as the keyboard or mouse. It also includes all of the computer's internal parts, which you can see in the image below.

Linux is an operating system, like macOS or Windows. It is also the most popular Open Source and free, as in freedom, operating system. Linux is also special because there’s not just “one Linux”, like it happens on Windows or macOS. Instead, we have distributions.

The Linux operating system comprises several different pieces:

🎯 Bootloader – The software that manages the boot process of your computer. For most users, this will simply be a splash screen that pops up and eventually goes away to boot into the operating system.

🎯 Kernel – This is the one piece of the whole that is actually called ‘Linux’. The kernel is the core of the system and manages the CPU, memory, and peripheral devices. The kernel is the lowest level of the OS.

🎯 Init system – This is a sub-system that bootstraps the user space and is charged with controlling daemons. One of the most widely used init systems is systemd, which also happens to be one of the most controversial. It is the init system that manages the boot process, once the initial booting is handed over from the bootloader (i.e., GRUB or GRand Unified Bootloader).

🎯 Daemons – These are background services (printing, sound, scheduling, etc.) that either start up during boot or after you log into the desktop.

🎯 Graphical server – This is the sub-system that displays the graphics on your monitor. It is commonly referred to as the X server or just X.

🎯 Desktop environment – This is the piece that the users actually interact with. There are many desktop environments to choose from (GNOME, Cinnamon, Mate, Pantheon, Enlightenment, KDE, Xfce, etc.). Each desktop environment includes built-in applications (such as file managers, configuration tools, web browsers, and games).