B

BASH

Bourne Again SHell. The most common shell interpreter used under Linux and offered as default on many Linux systems.

binary executable

Another way of referring to a program that has been compiled so that it can be used day-today. See also compile.

block device

How the Linux kernel communicates with a device that sends and receives blocks of data; usually your hard disk or removable storage device. See also character device.

BSD Unix

Berkeley Software Distribution Unix; form of Unix partially based on the original Unix source code but also incorporating recent developments. BSD is Open Source and free for all to use and share with practically no restrictions. There are various forms of BSD Unix, such as FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD. BSD doesn’t use the Linux kernel, but it runs many of the same programs. Some of the programs offered within the Linux operating system come from BSD.

bzip2

Form of file compression. Together with the older and less efficient gzip, it is a popular form of file compression under Linux and the equivalent to Zip compression under Windows. Files employing bzip compression are usually given a .bz2 file extension. See also tar.