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SubjectRe: UDI and Free Software
Date
>From: Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
>Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 18:17:59 -0400
>Subject: Re: UDI and Free Software
>
>> > Well, I never listened to them, and that's why we now have
>> > a free operating system
>
> how is the Hurd doing these days?
>
>Work is progressing, and if I find a very good programmer who wants to
>work on the Hurd, I can hire one. There is a project, Debian
>GNU/Hurd, which is making a Hurd-based GNU system with a larger
>collection of packages.
>
>The Hurd, like Linux, is a kernel, not an operating system. The Hurd
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

IIRC, this issue has been thrashed out at great length on the list.
Furthermore, this sort of pedantic pseudo-religious bullshit is
unhelpful, and is part of the reason that Hurd blows (and always will
blow) goats.

>is one part of the GNU project that hasn't been a success, at least
>not yet; I use Linux as the kernel, just as you do. But the kernel is
>just a small part of the GNU project. What we set out to do, 15 years
>ago, was no less than developing a whole free Unix-like operating
>system.
>
>You're using it.

RMS has been a major force in the development of free software, but this
sort of contribution is just a waste of bits. You would think that a
major figure like him wouldn't feel the need to constantly assert his
own importance (and slight the contributions of others).

BTW, the fs-1037C definition of an operating system is
"operating system: An integrated collection of routines that service the
sequencing and processing of programs by a computer. Note: An operating
system may provide many services, such as resource allocation,
scheduling, input/output control, and data management. Although
operating systems are predominantly software, partial or complete
hardware implementations may be made in the form of firmware. "

It seems to me that the linux kernel happily fills this definition.
This is not to knock the contributions of the very many fine developers
who developed the GNU tools that have made this possible, but I think
that RMS does himself no credit by claiming that we use a "GNU system".

Sean Hunter

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