Paste your essay in here…What is Linux? Just like Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 and Mac OS X, Linux is an operating system. An operating system is software that manages all of the hardware resources associated with your desktop or laptop. In other word, the operating system manages the communication between your software and your hardware. Without the operating system (often referred to as the “OS”), the software wouldn’t function.
Linux is a family of free and open-source software operating systems built around the Linux kernel. Typically, Linux is packaged in a form known as a Linux distribution for both desktop and server use. The defining component of a Linux distribution is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name. The Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to refer to the operating system family, as well as specific distributions, to emphasize that most Linux distributions are not just the Linux kernel, and that they have in common not only the kernel, but also numerous utilities and libraries, a large proportion of which are from the GNU project. This has led to some controversy.
Linux was originally developed for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture, but has since been ported to more platforms than any other operating system. Because of the dominance of the Linux kernel-based Android OS on smartphones, Linux has the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems. Linux is also the leading operating system on servers and other big iron systems such as mainframe computers, and the only OS used on TOP500 supercomputers. It is used by around 2.3% of desktop computers. Linux also runs on embedded systems, i.e. devices whose operating system is typically built into the firmware and is highly tailored to the system. This includes TiVo and similar DVR devices, network routers, facility automation controls, televisions, video game consoles and smartwatches. Many smartphones and tablet computers run Android and other Linux derivatives.
The development of Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open-source software collaboration. The underlying source code may be used, modified and distributed—commercially or non-commercially—by anyone under the terms of its respective licenses, such as the GNU General Public License.
Some of the most popular and mainstream Linux distributions[29][30][31] are Arch Linux, CentOS, Debian, Raspbian, Fedora, Gentoo Linux, Linux Mint, Mageia, openSUSE and Ubuntu, together with commercial distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Distributions include the Linux kernel, supporting utilities and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project, and usually a large amount of application software to fulfil the distribution's intended use. Desktop Linux distributions include a windowing system, such as X11, Mir or a Wayland implementation, and an accompanying desktop environment such as GNOME or KDE Plasma; some distributions may also include a less resource-intensive desktop, such as LXDE or Xfce. Distributions intended to run on servers may omit all graphical environments from the standard install, and instead include other software to set up and operate a solution stack such as LAMP. Because Linux is freely redistributable, anyone may create a distribution for any intended use.
One of the most important thing in Linux is file manager. What is file manager? A file manager is software which provides a user interface to assist in the organization of files. It helps users with their daily work in managing their files on a hard drive or other storage device. With terabyte hard disks becoming prevalent, file managers represent an essential tool in managing file systems.
Every file manager provides basic operations such as to create, open, view, edit, search, rename, move copy, and delete files. However, file managers typically come supplied with sophisticated functionality including network connectivity, directory synchronizing, archive handling, advanced searching, shortcuts, file/folder comparisons, checksums, plugins, and more, making them an incredibly powerful tool.
There are 3 main types of file managers covered in this feature. Orthodox file managers or “Commander-like” file managers have three windows (two panels and one command line window). The second type is the navigational file manager representing the most common type of file manager available today.
There's a lot of file managers in Linux environment such as Nautilus (GNOME), Dolphin (KDE), Thunar (XFCE), Nemo (Cinnamon), Caja (MATE), emelFM2, Endeavour Mark II, Konqueror, Krusader, Midnight Comannder, PCMan, ROX-Filer, Worker, Xfe, 4Pane and mane more. Today I will compare 5 uniqueness of file managers namely Nautilus (GNOME), Dolphin (KDE), Thunar (XFCE), Nemo (Cinnamon), and Caja (MATE).
I will start with the most convenience file managers ever exits in Linux environment, which is Dolphin. Why I choose Dolphin? It is because, compared to others, Dolphin supports splitting the view in two navigational areas, this way you can navigate two different directories at the same time. It is also shows folders as a tree, meaning that it is Very handy for moving or copying files from one folder to another in the same pane. It is also allows adding or modifying toolbar buttons and keyboard shortcuts. It also easy to extend with plugins. Dolphin follows KDE's philosophy of being extendable and configurable. It can easily be configured and customized through plugins. Dolphin also can display files and folders in separate groups. These groups vary depending on how files and folders are sorted by name, by type, and so on. We just have to press F4 to have an embedded terminal in the pane current directory. In this way, all the advantages together of GUI & console. Dolphin automatically identifies and mounts external flash drives. Like other KDE applications, Dolphin makes use of KIO which gives Dolphin access to other APIs and services. For example, it allows Dolphin to manage files stored remotely the same way you can manage local files through FTP. Dolphin is without a doubt the best fully functional and easy to use and multitask with. It has a refresh button which no other file manager has. It's great for tracking a large files transfer. That's what file managers are for.
For my second option of file managers in Linux environment is Nemo also known as Cinnamon. It is because, easily open file location in terminal, meaning that there is an option to open a folder in terminal, which can help executing commands such as bash. Nemo can be extended to have additional features through third party plugins. It also support ftp, ssh and samba connections. Nemo also can easily open as root, there is an option to open folder as root from within the right click menu. It also offers tabbed browsing of the file system. It actually a good way to quickly navigate between multiple frequently accessed locations is having the different locations open as tabs in the file manager. Nemo also support bookmarking. You can bookmark folders that you open often, this way you can easily access them from anywhere. Other than that, it also has a split view feature which is good for multitasking. Dual Pane view along with right click shortcut options for 'move to' and 'copy to' other pane are great time savers. It also has a great Cut/Copy/Paste speed analyzing window. Lastly, it has a really good for browsing big thumbnails of images. Not to be confused with the other layout options, this can be found under the Arrange menu.
My third options is Thunar. It has minimal dependencies. Unlike Nautilus, which requires the whole GNOME desktop, Thunar just depends on some XFCE utilities & GTK. It also support renaming files in bulk. Other than that, typing a filename automatically selects the first matching file in the current folder.
Next is Caja (MATE). Caja allows you to access remote or local locations. You can click the Files entry in the panel to access a specific location (remote or local), connect to a certain server (FTP, SFTP, SAMBA, etc.), access your bookmarks, open a new window, as well as to change its default functionality. It is not as good as Dolphin and Nemo, but really usable.
Lastly is Nautilus (GNOME), it allows you to access remote or local locations. Meaning that, you can click the Files entry in the panel to access a specific location (remote or local), connect to a certain server (FTP, SFTP, SAMBA, etc.), access your bookmarks, open a new window, as well as to change its default functionality. It also easy to use and familiar user interface for Ubuntu users. The user interface of Files is very familiar to Ubuntu users, most probably because Canonical still uses Nautilus (an old version of it) as the default file manager for its world’s most popular free operating system, Ubuntu Linux. It split into two parts, a sidebar and the main file viewer. While you already know what the latter can do for you, the sidebar offers quick access to Places, Devices and Network locations, as well as any other bookmarks that you can add whenever you want. Nautilus action configuration tool can configure systems in ways no other file manager can. Meaning that, It can configure popup menu depending on file type.