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this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2025
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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The licensing: Free and open source vs. paid, proprietary, and closed source. That really is the core difference, the licensing, and all the differences that come as consequences of that difference.
What separates the Linux kernel from the (Free)BSD kernels is copyleft/reciprocal licensing vs. permissive licensing.