Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system kernel created by Linus Torvalds in 1991. It powers the vast majority of servers, cloud instances, containers, and embedded devices worldwide. Linux distributions (Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, Red Hat) bundle the kernel with system tools and package managers for different use cases.

In software development, Linux is the standard deployment target — Docker containers run on Linux, Kubernetes orchestrates Linux containers, and nearly all cloud providers default to Linux instances. Its stability, security track record, and absence of licensing costs have made it the foundation of modern infrastructure. The kernel is developed on GitHub.