Linux Glossary

1. Source Code

Source code is a text file, editable in any text editor (emacs, vi, etc..), And in a certain language, describes a program. The Linux kernel is available in source form, and all software "free", which allows anyone to modify and improve these programs, disseminating improvements have been made.

2. Compile

Compiling is to transform source code into binary file directly executable by the operating system.

3. Daemon

The abbreviations is a DAEMON Disk And Execution Monitor. It is a program that often works in the background for Linux distributions, and awaiting a request to respond. It is compared to drivers or services under other operating systems.

4. Window Manager

The border between IM windows (or window manager) and the desktop (or desktop environment) is not always clear. In general, the window manager is the X client who owns and manages the windows (title bar, frame, moving, resizing, etc..). Applications, meanwhile, have within the window, it is they who create the windows, manage content and the interaction with this content. It is thus possible to change WM, and see all the appearance of the screen change completely. Some window managers: KDE KWM WM, Enlightenment, WindowMaker, fvwm and all its variations, twm ancestor, olwm, etc..

5. Kernel

See the definition of "Core"

6. Language

In computer language it's how you go talk to the machine that does what you want. The low-level languages are binary (directly understood by the microprocessor, but can lead to mental hospital), and assembler, which consists of mnemonics which translate directly into binary. Under Linux, most software, and the kernel itself are programmed in a higher level language very popular today: the C language The evolution of C to the object (a different way of representing things, where data and program are one) is the C + +, used for programming KDE.
Other languages used today are Java, Pascal, Fortran, Cobol. These languages, as well as C, must go through a compilation phase before being understood by the machine.
There is also languages that do not require compilation, because they are actually composed of instructions read and interpreted by software. These languages are interpreted or scripting languages. Among them the famous Perl, Tcl / Tk, and the languages of shells (sh, csh, etc..).

7. Free Software

Free software is software whose license called free gives everyone the right to use, study, modify, duplicate, make and sell such software without consideration. Richard Stallman has formalized the concept of free software in the first half of the 1980s and was popularized with the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation (FSF). FOSS is an alternative to those who are not qualified "owners" or "privateurs.
Free software is distributed with source code, you can modify and redistribute it under the terms of a license like the GNU Public License (GPL) or BSD style license. This is the principle of development of Linux and most (if not all) applications delivered in Linux distributions. Please note that free does not necessarily mean free, and vice versa.

8. Kernel

The Linux kernel is the core software that allows the computer to start, manage devices, directly or through modules, manage tasks and share their computer time to produce what is called a multitasking, or running multiple applications simultaneously. The core includes all the Linux networking stack, POSIX interfaces (standard unifying system calls, allowing programs to be easily carried on other operating systems). The kernel can handle many file systems, including many drivers, and many other things.
The core is available in source form, and we can compile it after setting it to meet its needs.
Etymologically speaking, "Linux" is just the name of the operating system kernel, but there is a tendency by abuse of language to use "Linux" to refer to all of Linux, the X server and several applications. The most basic applications supplied with Linux is part of GNU (recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix). We should therefore speak of GNU Linux.

9. Root

The root user is the superuser, the administrator of a Linux (and Unix in general).
Usually, one works in this user and administrative tasks of the machine. It is recommended to create at least one regular user, under which we will do the rest (office, internet, games, etc..).
To log in as root, as recommended, for security issues is to first login as a normal user, then a text console, type the command "su", then the root password. This gives a "prompt" belonging to root.

10. X Window

X Window is the graphical subsystem of Linux. X is not only a driver for the video card is also an interface (API) for applications so that they display on screen and receive the input keyboard and mouse.
X is also a network server, ie it can also offer its services through a network, which displays on a screen an application running on another computer, even though both architectures are completely different. This is why it is called the X server to describe the graphics subsystem. The X Window System running on almost all Unix, and has even been ported to Windows or OS / 2.
Almost all graphics software for Linux using X, you can run them through a network as described above. The user does not interact directly with X, but rather with what are called X clients (for Opposition to the X server). You are probably using customers as a window manager (window manager), or a desktop environment (desktop environment) such as KDE or Gnome. To log in, you may be using as a display manager like KDM or XDM. Above these clients are the applications. The X Window System (or X Window System, or X, or X) is a registered trademark of X Consortium. X servers free Linux distribution from the XFree86 project.

Note: Compared to Windows, Macintosh and so on ... In Windows, everything is included in the same box, the graphics subsystem, the user interface and core applications. Similarly for the Mac, BeOS, etc.. One does not easily tell the difference between the components.
Worldwide X, these are separate components, which together form the graphical user interface. This may sound complicated, but it has one great advantage: you can choose individual components according to your taste and you build the GUI that you like best. is what allows you, for example, to replace the window manager WindowMaker Enlightenment by the Gnome desktop environment.