By that standard no OS is Linux. Linux when used in reference to an operating system typically refers to the family of operating systems that use the Linux kernel.
I'm glad you can read my mind and decide what I'm using for OS definition.
But no, Debian Linux running on a VM is not its OS, but Mint Linux running on my hardware is the OS.
An OS is a body of software that:
- multiplexes machine hardware resources
- abstracts the hardware platform
- protects software principals from each other
Does Debian Linux in a VM multiplexes the hardware resources? Not really. Does a VM running on Mint Linux? Again not really. They are multiplexing the resources given to them, but not actual hardware resources.
Android's OS isn't Linux. In same way my OS isn't Java. It runs Java, but that doesn't make Java an OS.
Android is based on a modified Linux kernel
It's also based on modified JVM. It still doesn't make Dalvik my operating system.
Android OS can best be described as a ball of mud that evolved soup of (semi?-)proprietary firmware.
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There is not much of a point to pointing that out considering popular server Linux OSs like Debian and RHEL also use a modified Linux kernel
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By that standard no OS is Linux. Linux when used in reference to an operating system typically refers to the family of operating systems that use the Linux kernel.
I'm glad you can read my mind and decide what I'm using for OS definition.
But no, Debian Linux running on a VM is not its OS, but Mint Linux running on my hardware is the OS.
An OS is a body of software that:
- multiplexes machine hardware resources
- abstracts the hardware platform
- protects software principals from each other
Does Debian Linux in a VM multiplexes the hardware resources? Not really. Does a VM running on Mint Linux? Again not really. They are multiplexing the resources given to them, but not actual hardware resources.
6 replies →