Re: GNU & Linux??? [LWN.net]

From:	 Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
To:	 ron.l.johnson@cox.net
Subject: Re: GNU & Linux???
Date:	 Sun, 26 May 2002 19:50:20 -0600 (MDT)
Cc:	 krooger@debian.org, letters@lwn.net

    Every night when you lay down to sleep, you should thank 
    ${DEITY} that Linus came along to spread the GNU utilities 
    beyond academia.  

Describing the GNU system as "utilities" is quite an understatement.
GNU is not a set of utilities--GNU is an operating system.  The
GNU/Linux system is pretty much the same as GNU, but not entirely the
same, because it has Linux in it too.

I appreciate Torvalds' contribution to the GNU/Linux system.  I credit
Torvalds (not hypothetical gods) for this work, and that's one reason
I mention his contribution in the name of the operating system.

I also appreciate that Torvalds' kernel would have mattered little for
computer users' freedom, if not for the fact that we had already
produced most of a free operating system for it to fit in.
Giving him equal mention is more than fair.

(Log in to post comments)

"GNU is an operating system"

Posted Jun 7, 2002 1:38 UTC (Fri) by Baylink (subscriber, #755) [Link]

It is? You could have fooled me.

So far as I can tell even the Debian folk can't produce an installable, bootable OS that uses solely software with copyright assigned to the FSF.

So it's only *much* of an operating system, ok?

single copyright holder?

Posted Jun 7, 2002 3:59 UTC (Fri) by jamesh (subscriber, #1159) [Link]

Whether you agree with RMS or not, that comment is a bit misleading. There are not many (if any) general purpose operating systems similar in size to current ones that have a single copyright holder.

They all license code from other sources. Why would GNU have to be different? (taking into account that they could only license code under terms that were consistent with their philosophy).

"GNU is an operating system" - yes, it is

Posted Jun 8, 2002 6:02 UTC (Sat) by DeletedUser1800 ((unknown), #1800) [Link]

Well, the Debian/Hurd distro is coming along nicely. Yes, you are correct in saying that Debian hasn't got and easy-to-install GNU-only OS out yet, but the work is well underway. Plus, if you ignore Debian and install from the HURD images (I think the CD binaries release version is J1 or something today) you can have a fully GNU OS running on your system. This works. I have done it. I had such a system on a spare partition over a year ago. And I am not a developer, just (barely) smart enough to follow a read-me. So although your words are literally correct, your meaning is way off. Hurd is not main-stream ready, but it works. It works today, and people do use it in non-critical areas.

"GNU is an operating system" - yes, it is

Posted Jun 11, 2002 16:29 UTC (Tue) by Baylink (subscriber, #755) [Link]

Ok; glad to hear it.

But, y'know, that's what; 12 years behind?

Not any reason for hubris, which is the tone *I* infer from RMS's commentary...

Timing is everything. Will the kernel run Linux binaries? BSD?

Sometimes it doesn't matter by the time you finally ship it... an argument the mono-kernel junkies wil chime in on, no doubt, but that's really a separate issue.