I believe Forbes Magazine has placed Linus Torvald in such high esteem because million of people around the world use computers and networks that are run by his programs. According to the article posted in Forbes Magazine entitled, "For The Love of Hackers", the reason they didn't choose Richard Brodie as the most popular programmer on the planet is because the innovations and improvements of Linux outperforms Microsoft. The article also mentioned that the new versions of the Linux open source programs are posted monthly where as Microsoft Windows operating system updates are only issued anywhere from one to three years.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1998/0810/6203094a.html
I would also choose Trovald as the best programmer because Linux OS powers much of the world's computer servers, smartphones, PC's and tablets.
Linus Torvald attended college at the University of Helsinki, in Finland at the age of 19. He majored in Computer Science. In the mid 70's Linus bought his own PC and at the age of ten began to create his own programs using BASIC programming language. By the time he enrolled himself in college, he was already a successful programmer and has been at it for 34 years.
http://www.linfo.org/linus.html
Linux is a free, open source Unix-based operating system that is used on a variety of devices such as PC's, servers, mainframes, and smartphones. It is available for the publics use, modification and redistribution. It was created in 1991 by Linus Torvald.
http://www.linux.org/threads/what-is-linux.4076/
The every day person uses Linux and may not even be aware of it. For example: if you use Google, Facebook or Amazon you are a Linux user. personal businesses and retail companies also rely on Linux OS.
The difference between Linux and Windows or MAC operating system is that everyone has access to the source code with Linux. With the Linux licensing freedom you are free to modify the software, republish it or sell it. You can also download a single copy and install the application on as many machines as you like. Linux has more flexibility for a desktop application. The major difference between Linux and MAC's OS is that Linux is open source and MAC's is proprietary.
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-fundamental-differences-between-linux-and-windows/406
The advantages to the Linux program is that it enables developers to examine, correct and enhance code to create better programs. Programmers can make changes to fit their needs and hundreds of organizations have taken advantage of that freedom. Another advantage is that it is free and runs on a variety of different platforms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
One disadvantage of open source software is the concern of viruses and other security measures. Developers can use open source software to create programs that may be malware.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
I disagree on the first half of your last part of your post. Open source shouldn't have much security risk, as they can constantly be improved with enough added code. There is also security risks for all major operating systems so I wouldn't count it against Linux too much. As for developers creating their own malware from it, I'm not sure if that is that big of in issue. But that's just human choice and I'd have to agree with that argument.
ReplyDeleteChris, I understand why you disagree on the my view of open source. I did read that open source can have the security risks via patches or the through distribution of new, compromised versions. Another avenue for attack to online distribution methods used by many open source projects is that software downloads can be replaced with fakes containing malicious codes. Many open source software foundations have processes in place to handle such vulnerabilities through a security team.
DeleteI agree with the first half of your post, the second half not so much. The first half makes a lot of sense because we all know Forbes is a pretty exclusive list to be on and if Linux made it then he must have known what he was doing. I think Linux's creation was the one of the things that helped small businesses to take of by using this free software
ReplyDeleteDijae, I'm not sure what part of my post you didn't agree with. I'm guessing it is probably the part about open source software having security issues. I was trying to get across that malicious coders could introduce security risks through patches or through distribution of new, compromised versions. Other software that isn't open source would not have this security issues so I pointed out one aspect that could be a problem with open source software.
DeleteI don't think Linux has as much security problems as you think it has. I'd say the fact that it can be easily modified would help the security measures. There's probably versions with improved security. I know Linux has good protection against malware. I might even say that Linux has better protection against malware than Windows does.
ReplyDeleteCedrick, I understand you view of the security risk of open source software. What I wanted to point out was that with open source software malicious hackers do have ways of downloading viruses through patches or through the distribution of new, compromised versions. There are open source software foundations that have processes in place to handle such vulnerabilities through a security team, however.
DeleteWith the whole thing with Linux being on a high level of intelligence I agree on that. It is not as popular as other operating systems but it still has it's varying uses in today's world. I would also have to say that I believe that Dennis is my choice for top programmer for the sole reason of he's the creator of the C language. I know this is only my opinion but it's what I believe.
ReplyDeleteChris, I can understand why you believe Dennis Ritchie, co-creator of Unix and father of the C Programming Language is your favorite programmer. The combination of C and Unix have been at the core of programming to this day. Someone made a comment that "Dennis managed to find a perfect balance between expressiveness and efficiency with C programming language".
DeleteErik, I like your post, it was different from the rest (mainly the interesting format). I also think that some of the advantages to Linux are that it is easy to install and that it is less vulnerable to computer malware and viruses.I think it was interesting that Torvalds left school to complete his mandatory military training, I would have tried to do it before school (but I don't know the rules). Torvalds seems like an arrogant person though from a couple articles i read about his actions in the work place.
ReplyDeleteNick, thanks for the comments. As far as Torvalds being arrogant, I also read articles about that. In one article it says that he is rude to people who disagree with him. They also said that profanity and insults have long been management tactics of Linus. Of course this is someone elses opinion of him. But if it is true too bad because he might be correct in his management style but he doesn't have to be rude, arrogant or obnoxious to do that.
DeleteI would like to say that I really like how you structured your post, this is the first post that I have seen that has been put together differently from everyone else's posts. I agree with a lot of your information, I didn't find the information about when he first started using code, I thought that was a very great piece of detail that we everyone needed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kiman, for the positive comments. Now that you brought it I didn't talk much about how Linus relied on software code from MINIX at first so I decided to go back and read about that and I think I should have brought up the point that the GNU system was free so Linus and the other people who worked on Linux used the software to make Linux kernel suitable for use with the code from the GNU project switching from his original license to the GNU.
DeleteHeeey... The beginning of this post had stuff in it that I not only never found in my research, but also haven't read in anyone else's posts yet! That impressed me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this was a pretty well-formatted post, which was a nice change of pace, I guess.
I think I understand why Torvalds would be regarded as a popular programmer, since Linux has become so extensive, but I'm still uneasy about actually considering him the greatest programmer ever, or the most popular programmer ever. Many people contribute to and use what he made to this day. Does that make him the best?
I understand what you said about why people consider Linus the greatest programmer and that there are others that should get that recognition also. I think the people who agree that Linus is the best is because without a kernel an operating system doesn't exist. Another reason why people agree is because Linux has sold more than anything else. Just think about all the devices that have the Linux programs. But that's just some peoples opinion. Your area entitled to your own, too, and I respect that.
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