Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system (OS) assembled under the model of free and open-source software development and distribution. It was first released in 1991 by Linus Torvalds.
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 —
Linux distributions have long been used as server operating systems, and have risen to prominence in that area; Netcraft reported in September 2006, that eight of the ten most reliable internet hosting companies ran Linux distributions on their web servers.
Linux distributions are the cornerstone of the LAMP server-software combination (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) which has achieved popularity among developers, and which is one of the more common platforms for website hosting. According to Alexa, 96.55% of the top one million domains run Linux web servers.
