Linux naming controversy
In 1983, The Free Software Foundation, founded by Dr. Richard Stallman, made an attempt to create a free Unix-like operating system, which they called the GNU system as a recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix.[1] They began with the necessary tools for the system, such as a compiler, a debugger, and a text editor. Their plan was to then create a kernel to place beneath the tools that they had created.
The HURD team chose to base their architecture on a Mach microkernel design, which, from an academic standpoint seemed to be the next evolutionary step in kernel architecture.
However, due to the very complex structure of this new type of kernel, it took them an extremely long time compared to Monolithic kernels to get a workable release. To this day, development of the HURD (the GNU kernel) continues without a stable first release.
It was during this time that Torvalds first introduced his kernel, which came to be called Linux. Before Linux, hackers had no choice but to use non-free kernels, most notably Minix. While the GNU kernel began to look more like vaporware every day, the community received Linux with open arms and many began to contribute.
From gnu.org: "Variants of the GNU operating system, which use the kernel called Linux, are now widely used; though these systems are often referred to as “Linux”, they are more accurately called GNU/Linux systems."
The GNU Project members decided to call 'Linux' GNU/Linux, in order to attribute credit to those who worked hard at creating the tools that the Linux kernel runs. Linus Torvalds, however, has made no effort to hide his thoughts towards this naming convention, saying that "calling Linux in general just 'GNU/Linux' I think is ridiculous."[2]
References
- ↑ About the GNU Project (Retreived 06 April 2007).
- ↑ The "GNU/Linux" and "Linux" Controversy (Retreived 06 April 2007).