Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 7 Mar 1996 11:52:59 -0600 (CST) | From | Bill Powers <> | Subject | Re: Linux isn't an operating system |
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On Wed, 6 Mar 1996, Richard Stallman wrote:
> I learned to distinguish between an operating system and its kernel > while working at MIT, since before starting the GNU project. That is > why the GNU system is not the same as the GNU Hurd plus Mach. > > I was surprised to learn that some people consider "operating system" > to be synonymous with "kernel". But they have quoted textbooks, so > this usage seems to be well established. > > The other usage, which distinguishes the two terms, is also well > established. Here's what the Feb 1966 issue of Linux Journal says, on > page 7, in answer to the question "What is Linux?" > > Linux itself is the kernel, the "core" of the operating system, > Most people use "Linux" to mean all of the software that goes along > with the kernel to make a usable operating system. > > Many of the users of Linux have got their idea of the meaning of > "operating system" from there. That explanation distinguishes clearly > between the kernel and the whole collection of software you need to do > actual work, but it suggests calling them both "Linux". > > So it appears that "operating system" is ambiguous. It can mean the > whole collection of system software, or it can mean just the kernel. > This ambiguity probably tends to encourage confusion between those two > different entities. > > Most users who use Linux install whole collections of software, which > contain Linux. These collections include Slackware, Debian, > Plug-and-Play, RedHat, and so on. They are analogous to > non-Linux-based collections such as NetBSD, SunOS, HPUX, and Unix. We > can call such collections operating systems, or ready-to-use > self-sufficient software distributions, or some other term. Whatever > name we use, the difference between these collections and the kernel > is clear. > > I call these collections "Linux-based GNU systems" to help promote > unity and cooperation in the whole community. I hope some of you will > join me in doing this. > > What we need is a short, catchy, name that encompasses all of the above...
LIGNUX !
8-)
--
Bill Powers wepprop@nettap.com Linux: Resistance is futile...
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