The Making of Linux: The World's First Open-Source Operating System

GNU/Linux was the first complete open source and free operating system. The development of the Linux kernel and the GNU/Linux OS is one that every tech enthusiast should know.

From a hobby project in 1991 to one of the most widely used operating systems in the world, the development of Linux is a remarkable story of collaboration, innovation, and open-source software. Linux, for those that don’t know, is a community of open-source operating systems developed on top of the Linux kernel - the core of the operating system, responsible for managing resources, providing access to hardware, and communicating with other software.
One could say it all started in 1991 when Linus Torvalds, a computer science student at the University of Helsinki, started working on the operating system as a hobby project. He was frustrated with the proprietary nature of existing operating systems and wanted to create a free and open-source alternative that anyone could use and contribute to. A kernel that could be independent of any OS and be used on his hardware, the new Intel 80386 microprocessor. But it began 22 years earlier. This is the story of the development of the Linux kernel and the GNU/Linux operating system.

I hope you enjoyed it. Making these videos about computer science history is quickly becoming a passion of mine, with many more to come, so if you liked this one, subscribe to the channel as I’m sure you’ll like the ones to come, like when we dive into the GNU project. Any and all recommendations for future videos are welcome in the comments. Until next time, y’all have a good one.

00:00 What is Linux?
00:28 Why Linus Built Linux
00:56 The Development Before Linux
02:07 Linus Announces His Hobby Project, Linux
02:56 How It All Started
03:43 It's Actually GNU/Linux
05:45 The Name "Linux"
06:35 "Tux", Linux's Mascot
07:00 Linux 1.0.0 Release
07:40 Significant Linux Distributions
09:11 More Linux Videos
09:21 Linux Today
11:01 Thanks for Watching!!

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👨‍💻 My Coding Gear:

[fknight]

The Making of BSD is next...

*Original Message from February 2023:* Looks like I'm going to have to make a video on The Making of BSD. In this Linux video, "The Making of Linux, The World's First Open-Source Operating System" there have been a lot of comments saying BSD was actually first and that I forgot about it. I didn't forget about BSD. BSD wasn't a complete FOSS OS when released in 1978. 386BSD was the first complete BSD FOSS OS, and released after Linux in 1992. We can also talk about Net/1, but that wasn't a full OS. Net/2 wasn't complete either, but that could be considered the first depending on your definition of "complete OS", but everyone who commented was talking about BSD's 1978 release, not Net/2.
I love doing research about this stuff, but not all resources are accurate so I do research among a wide array of articles, books, and other historical writeups. So if I'm wrong, I'd love to learn how so I can correct it, but I don't want opinions or what you _want_ to be true. I want source-based facts.
Although do note, links are blocked to prevent scammers and spammers, so don't post an actual link lol but somehow direct us (me and the others reading & watching) to a reputable, unbiased source backing your statement so we can learn more. Thanks for all who watched! If you liked the video, I hope you subscribed because there's many more like this to come!

[qwertykeyboard]

Can we all appreciate how reasonable Linus's expectations for linux where?

Almost all software projects end up not getting attention, and Linus knew that. He kept his expectations low!

[IvanToshkov]

9:36 a bit of clarification: the first commit in the Linux repo is from April 16, 2005 as Linus decided not to import the older commits. This means that the actual number of commits is significantly higher.

[dordly]

Linus didn't care about making free and open source software (partly because that concept didn't exist), he wasn't fed up with proprietary software, he just wanted feedback on his project so he shared the source code with others. Linus has never felt strongly about the Free Software or Open Source movements, that's Richard Stallman's thing who is known for created the GNU project and the core utils on top of Linux making it a mostly complete OS.

[jamesrosemary]

I remember in 1996 as a computer science student, getting a CD with the Red Hat Linux source codes, taking almost 8 hours to compile them on an 80386DX with 4 Mb of ram.
Of course it was not only the kernel but also all the tools included in that distribution.

[rickintexas]

I have never used Linux, but have watched it grow over the years. I wrote my first professional programs on a VAX using FORTRAN back in 1984. I purchased Unix computers for my company back in 1992 because the software we used (3D CAD) required Unix, but only HP Unix, and Sun Unix.

Computers sure have changed a lot in my lifetime.

[taneliharkonen]

Such an awesome video! Keep making these SC-history pieces :D I'm currently studying CS in the same school Torvalds did, and he is just such a highly appreciated and adored character here. Hope to get even a smidge of that skill and vision that he had while I'm here.. :o

[solomonthatcher]

Fantastic video, you do a great job at walking through the history of linux, and giving important background on the development and influences of linux. I hope to see more of these CS history videos from you in the future! I use gentoo btw ;)

[PixelSheep]

I just saw this was released yesterday! What a great video! I loved it and left a sub instantly!
Being a computer science student struggling to somehow make it through this is pure motivation :D thanks man 👍

[wcrb]

I'm loving these video essays you've been doing. :)

[rafaelpalmalima]

Nice compilation of Linux history 👏🏻 it'll definitely help new users understand the importance of Linux in the IT world.

[Michael_Walsh]

good review of the Linux kernel and clarified the difference between a kernel and userspace, well done. Subbed

[sayomshakib]

Beautiful! I can't appraciate enough the easy flow of this video. Great work...

[rxphi]

I love those new CS-history videos. Have you ever thought about some more technical CS-history videos? For example the development/discovery of some very useful algorithms?

[_marlene]

the story is so beautiful. Linux is tremendously elegant. I love having my PC feel like a work of art and self-reflection, instead of feeding me ads and rebooting without my permission. Control!!

[corewarrior]

Hey Forrest! Nice summary of Linux and its history. Not a criticism, but I would've added git in this history too as it wouldn't have been developed at all without the McVoy/BitKeeper issue experienced by Linus and other kernel developers. No matter this was great and we can certainly agree that Torvalds does rank as one of the top Computer Scientists of all time.

[MilMike]

Love this kind of videos from you. Entertaining and I learned something. Keep it up!

[akshaydevsv]

Absolutely Fantastic and Inspirational. Great to know that what started as a hobby project back in 90s is presently being used in almost all industries in the world!

[rogerdeutsch]

Fantastic video. Subscribed to this channel, because of the great quality. 👍🏽

[fanaFSF]

This is one of the best summaries I have ever seen. And it also included Stallman and the GNU project. Thank you very much