1  ---
  2  title: Early Linux history
  3  date: 2023-03-10
  4  author: Lars Wirzenius
  5  ...
  6  
  7  # 
  8  
  9  ![](skin2.png)\ 
 10  
 11  # 1988-1990
 12  
 13  - C & Unix programming
 14  
 15    - Ultrix 2.0
 16    - SunOS
 17    - Usenet
 18  
 19  - two weirdos in terminal room
 20  
 21  - hypothetical discussions about operating systems
 22  
 23    - Plan 9
 24    - QNX
 25  
 26  # 1991: Linus gets a PC
 27  
 28  - January 5: Linus' first PC
 29  
 30    - no-name 386 with 4 MiB RAM
 31  
 32  - Prince of Persia
 33  
 34  - Minix
 35  
 36  # Freax
 37  
 38  - April: assembly language, A/B threads
 39  
 40  - I write sprintf
 41  
 42  - Linus writes drivers for keyboard, serial port, hard
 43    drive, terminal emulation, support for Minix file
 44    system
 45  
 46    - reading Usenet from home, such science fiction!
 47    - Linus dials his hard drive, implements file permissions
 48    - much porting of free software
 49    - Freax becomes self hosting
 50  
 51  - August: Linus posts to comp.os.minix about new kernel
 52  
 53  # comp.os.minix pre-announcement, 1991-08-25
 54  
 55  
 56  ~~~
 57  
 58  Hello everybody out there using minix -
 59  
 60  I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby,
 61  won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT
 62  clones. This has been brewing since april, and is
 63  starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things
 64  people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it
 65  somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due
 66  to practical reasons) among other things).
 67  
 68  ~~~
 69  
 70  # Continued
 71  
 72  ~~~
 73  
 74  I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and
 75  things seem to work. This implies that I'll get
 76  something practical within a few months, and I'd like
 77  to know what features most people would want. Any
 78  suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll
 79  implement them :-)
 80  
 81  Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)
 82  
 83  PS. Yes - it's free of any minix code, and it has a
 84  multi-threaded fs. It is NOT protable (uses 386 task
 85  switching etc), and it probably never will support
 86  anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's all I have
 87  :-(.
 88  
 89  ~~~
 90  
 91  # Later in 1991: Linux
 92  
 93  - September, October: tarball uploads to ftp.funet.fi
 94  
 95    - name changes to Linux
 96  
 97  - Linus installs Linux on my PC
 98  
 99  - Linus announces Linux to comp.os.minix, much interest
100  
101  - non-free license: no commercial use
102  
103  - RMS visits Finland, I take Linus to listen to him
104  
105  - Christmas break: virtual memory implementation
106  
107  - kernel compilation takes around 45 minutes on my PC
108  
109  # 1992
110  
111  - Linux license change to GPL
112  
113  - Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate
114    - `https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/` `Tanenbaum%E2%80%93Torvalds_debate`
115    - Linux is obsolete
116    - x86 will be replaced
117    - monolithic kernel is _soo_ 1970s
118  
119  - X11 / X386 is ported to Linux
120  
121  - The Linux Documentation Project
122  
123  - I make a few issues of Linux News, first ever
124    Linus interview - `https://liw.fi/linux-news/`
125  
126    - replaced by comp.os.linux.announce
127  
128  - first Linux distribution, SLS
129  
130  - kernel compilation takes around 45 minutes on my PC
131  
132  # 1993
133  
134  - SLS morphs into Slackware, incites Debian
135  
136  - both Linus and I start working for uni
137  
138  - kernel compilation takes around 45 minutes on my PC
139  
140  # 1994
141  
142  - Linux 1.0 is released
143  
144  - Red Hat starts
145  
146  - kernel compilation takes around 45 minutes on my PC
147  
148  # 1995
149  
150  - I and Linus do a software engineering project for uni; I teach him CVS
151  
152  - Linux breaks Sun systems on the university network;
153    Linux is banned until fixed
154  
155  - Port of kernel to DEC Alpha architecture
156  
157  - kernel compilation takes around 45 minutes on my PC
158  
159  # Some time passes
160  
161  - Open source, IBM investment
162  
163  - KDE, GNOME, the desktop wars
164  
165  - MS attacks FOSS
166  
167  - Ubuntu
168  
169  - open source takes over the world, and beyond
170  
171  # 2023
172  
173  - Linux is on billions of devices, on all continents,
174    on all oceans, in all oceans, in the air, in orbit,
175    on Mars, sometimes flying on Mars, possibly in orbit
176    around Mars
177  
178    - **"just a hobby, won't be big and professional"**
179  
180  - kernel compile with default configuration takes 15
181    minutes on my work laptop