this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Ha, home has been traditionally always on a separate drive. That's the reason why root user has the home under /root and not /home/root, so that it can login even if the home drive didn't Mount.
As a curiosity, even /usr was traditionally on a separate drive and that's why critical binaries and libraries where under /bin and /lib while all non critical stuff under /usr. It is called "split-usr".
Nowadays /usr is always on the same drive as root, and we moved to a "merge-usr" approach where stuff under /lib and /bin is a symlink into /usr/lib and /usr/bin.
Because when HDDs where 50mb in size, even that small binary file counted as big :)