Computer Programming/Linux Programming

About the platform

The GNU operating system was started by Richard Stallman as a free replacement for the UNIX operating system. At the same time Linus Torvalds was working on a kernel, which he adapted to fit the GNU operating system. As time progressed, many applications from UNIX and DOS were ported to GNU/Linux as well as the thousands of new applications written for it. GNU/Linux has become a completely self-sufficient operating system with applications ranging from the many console applications to the numerous highly advanced GUI applications (many of which are based on lower level console applications) and everything else in between.

The most popular languages for use on the GNU/Linux platform include C/C++ and Java, however the range of programming languages supported by the GNU/Linux platform cover the entire spectrum of the software development world. Other popular languages are Perl, Python and Ruby. Shell scripting is often used for administrative tasks but cannot be called a complete high level language.

Basic information

Most UNIX code is instantly portable to GNU/Linux systems - it can be compiled as on a UNIX system. GNU/Linux programming tools are mostly from the GNU project at http://www.gnu.org, including gcc (free C/C++ compiler), and equivalents of make, ld, as, etc. Numerous others are available for various languages, including java.

Further reading

• "Secure Programming for Linux and Unix HOWTO -- Creating Secure Software" by David A. Wheeler 2003