Messages in this thread | | | From | "Sean Hunter" <> | Subject | Re: UDI and Free Software | Date | Mon, 12 Oct 1998 04:01:35 PDT |
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>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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