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Editor to share with you what are the differences between FreeBSD and Linux, I believe that most people still do not understand, so share this article for your reference, I hope you can learn a lot after reading this article, let's go to know it!

FreeBSD description History

The * version of FreeBSD was released in 1993, and its * CD-ROM is FreeBSD1.0, released in December 1993. Next, FreeBSD 2.1.0 was released in 1995 and won the favor of all users. In fact, many IT companies use FreeBSD and are satisfied, and we can list some of them: IBM, Nokia, NetApp, and Juniper Network.

License

With regard to its license, FreeBSD is released under a variety of open source licenses, and its * * code called Kernel is released as a two-sentence version of the BSD license, giving absolute freedom to use and redistribute FreeBSD. Other code is released under the three-sentence or four-sentence BSD license, some under the GPL and CDDL licenses.

LCTT translation note: the BSD license is quite short compared with the GPL license, with only four-sentence rules at first; in 1999, at the request of RMS, the third sentence was deleted, and the new license was called "new BSD" or the three-sentence version of BSD; the original BSD license was called "old BSD", "revised BSD" or four-sentence version of BSD;. There is also a version with the deletion of the third and fourth sentences, called the two-sentence version BSD, which is equivalent to the MIT license. )

User

One of the important features of FreeBSD is the diversity of its users. In fact, FreeBSD can be used as a mail server, Web server, FTP server, router, etc. You only need to run service-related software on it. FreeBSD also supports ARM, PowerPC, MIPS, x86, x86-64 architectures.

Similarities between FreeBSD and Linux

FreeBSD and Linux are two free and open source software. In fact, their users can easily check and modify the source code, and users have absolute freedom. Moreover, FreeBSD and Linux are Unix-like systems, and their kernels, internal components, and library programs all use algorithms inherited from the historical AT&T Unix. FreeBSD is fundamentally more like a Unix system, while Linux is released as a free Unix-like system. Many tool applications can be found in FreeBSD and Linux, and in fact, they have almost the same functionality.

In addition, FreeBSD can run a large number of Linux applications. It can install a Linux compatibility layer, which can be obtained by adding AAC Compact Linux when compiling FreeBSD, or by downloading a FreeBSD system that has compiled the Linux compatibility layer, which will include a compatible program: aac_linux.ko. Unlike FreeBSD, Linux cannot run FreeBSD's software.

*, we note that although the two have the same goals, there are still some differences, which we list in the next section.

The difference between FreeBSD and Linux

At present, for most users, there is no clear criterion for choosing FreeBSD or Linux. Because they have many of the same applications, because they are all called Unix-like systems.

In this chapter, we will list some important differences between the two systems.

License

The difference between the two systems is first of all their licenses. Linux is distributed under the GPL license, which gives users the freedom to read, distribute, and modify the source code, and the GPL license helps users avoid just issuing binaries. While FreeBSD is issued under the BSD license, the BSD license is more lenient than GPL because its derivative works do not need to still be published under that license. This means that any user can use, publish, and modify the code without having to maintain the previous license.

You can choose one of the two licenses according to your needs. The first is the BSD license, which is more popular with users because of its special terms. In fact, this license allows users to sell software released under the license while keeping the source code closed. Turning to GPL, it requires the attention of every user who uses software released under that license.

If you want to choose between two kinds of software released under different licenses, you need to understand their respective licenses and the methodology in their development, so that you can understand the differences in their characteristics and choose the ones that better suit your needs.

Control

Because FreeBSD and Linux are released under different licenses, Linus Torvalds controls the kernel of Linux, while FreeBSD is not controlled, unlike Linux. I personally prefer to use FreeBSD rather than Linux because FreeBSD is absolutely free software and there is no controller. There are other differences between Linux and FreeBSD, and I suggest you don't rush to make a choice until you finish reading this article.

Operating system

Linux mainly refers to the kernel system, which is different from FreeBSD, the entire system of FreeBSD is maintained. The FreeBSD kernel and a set of software developed by the FreeBSD team are maintained as a whole. In fact, FreeBSD developers can manage the core operating system remotely and efficiently.

As for Linux, there are some difficulties in managing the system. Because different components are maintained by different sources, Linux developers need to bring them together to achieve the same functionality.

Both FreeBSD and Linux give users a large number of software options and distributions, but they manage them differently. FreeBSD is a unified management method, while Linux needs to be maintained separately.

Hardware support

When it comes to hardware support, Linux does better than FreeBSD. But that doesn't mean FreeBSD doesn't have the ability to support hardware like Linux. They are just managed differently, which usually depends on your needs. Therefore, if you are looking for a solution for *, FreeBSD is more suitable for you, but if you are looking for more universality, use Linux.

Native FreeBSD Vs native Linux

The differences between the two native systems are different. As I said before, Linux is an alternative system for Unix, written by Linus Torvalds and implemented with the help of many geeks on the network. Linux has all the functions required by a modern system, such as virtual memory, shared libraries, dynamic loading, excellent memory management, and so on. It is released under the GPL license.

FreeBSD also inherits many important features of Unix. FreeBSD is a distribution of BSD developed at the University of California. The most important reason for developing BSD is to replace the AT&T operating system with an open source system, thus giving users the ability to use it without an AT&T license.

The issue of license is what developers are most concerned about. They are trying to provide an open source system for cloning Unix. This affects the choice of users, and because FreeBSD is released under a BSD license, it is freer than Linux.

Supported software packages

Another difference from the user's point of view is the availability and support of software packages and software installed from source code. Linux provides only precompiled binaries, unlike FreeBSD, which provides not only precompiled packages, but also a build system that is compiled and installed from source. With its ports tool, FreeBSD gives you the option of using precompiled packages (the default) and the ability to customize your software at compile time. (LCTT translation note: there is an error here. Linux also provides packages in source code and supports self-building. )

These ports allow you to build all the software that supports FreeBSD. Moreover, their management is hierarchical, and you can find the address of the source file and some documents that use FreeBSD correctly under / usr/ports.

These mentioned ports give you the possibility of producing different versions of the package. FreeBSD gives you two kinds of software that are built and precompiled from source code, rather than precompiled software packages like Linux. You can use two installation methods to manage your system.

Comparison of common tools between FreeBSD and Linux

There are a large number of common tools available on FreeBSD, and interestingly, they are owned by the FreeBSD team. On the contrary, the Linux tool comes from GNU, which is why there are some limitations in usage. (LCTT translation note: this is why the official name of Linux is called "GNU/Linux", because in essence Linux only refers to the kernel. )

In fact, the BSD license adopted by FreeBSD is very useful and useful. Therefore, you have the ability to maintain the core operating system and control the development of these applications. Some tools are similar to those of their ancestors, BSD and Unix, but unlike GNU suites, GNU suites only want to be minimally backward compatible.

Standard Shell

FreeBSD uses tcsh by default. It is an evaluated version of csh, and since FreeBSD is distributed under the BSD license, it is not recommended that you use bash shell, a component of GNU. The only difference between bash and tcsh is the scripting capabilities of tcsh. In fact, we recommend using sh shell in FreeBSD because it is more reliable and avoids some of the scripting problems that occur when using tcsh and csh.

A more hierarchical file system

As mentioned earlier, when using FreeBSD, the basic operating system and optional components can be easily distinguished. This leads to some of the standards that govern them. Under Linux, / bin,/sbin,/usr/bin or / usr/sbin are the directories where executable files are stored. Unlike FreeBSD, it has some additional specifications for organizing it. The underlying operating system is placed in the / usr/local/bin or / usr/local/sbin directory. This approach helps manage and distinguish between the underlying operating system and optional components.

The above is all the content of the article "what's the difference between FreeBSD and Linux". Thank you for reading! I believe we all have a certain understanding, hope to share the content to help you, if you want to learn more knowledge, welcome to follow the industry information channel!

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