This document provides an overview of the Linux operating system, including its history, components, features, and uses. It discusses how Linux was developed from Unix and GNU in the 1980s and became an open source alternative to commercial operating systems. The core components of Linux include the kernel, system libraries, and utilities. It describes the architecture of Linux with layers for hardware, kernel, shell, and utilities. The document also covers user interfaces, popular distributions, hardware requirements, applications, commands, and commercial uses of Linux before concluding with its advantages and disadvantages compared to other operating systems.