What Does GNU/Linux Mean?

The GNU project began in 1983 when the founder, Richard Stallman, observed that a great deal of software was becoming proprietary and the source code closed. Previously many companies had supplied the source code to products as a matter of routine but this was now becoming rare. Stallman set about writing an entire operating system, which is a very large project, with the intent of making the source code open and available to all.

An operating system requires many parts. Stallman chose to begin with utilities such as a text editor, a compiler and also a variety of useful libraries that an operating system relies on. One key component of the operating system is the kernel (or core of the operating system), which by the 1990s GNU had not yet developed. However, programmer Linus Torvalds (for who Linux is named) had written one which was made available in 1991. Many people combined the Linux kernel with the utilities and libraries provided by GNU to form various Linux distributions which are complete operating systems.

Linux is the common name for operating systems that use the Linux kernel. GNU made a large contribution to the operating systems that are commonly referred to as Linux and to honour this contribution the moniker GNU/Linux is sometimes used.

The GNU/Linux name is essentially political and there is no real technical difference between this and Linux. Some people argue that other organisations (such as the Apache Foundation) have also made equally as significant a contribution to modern Linux, therefore if GNU is specifically mentioned then shouldn’t other organisations be referenced equally? However that makes the name even longer and even more of an awkward marketing challenge than GNU/Linux already is. The shorter and snappier “Linux” is often preferred because it is just easier to say.

GNU is particularly noted for having published the GNU public license. This is a legal document which describes the way in which software can be used. Mainly it requires that distributors of software also publish the source code. GNU allows anyone to use the document to licence their software where they agree with the terms. Many programmers have found the document helpful and have published their software under the terms of the GNU public licence. The majority of software published under the license has no formal connection with GNU but the developer agrees with the ethos behind the terms of the license.

The is my interpretation of the meaning of GNU/Linux. Richard Stallman has written his own thorough document on the name which can be found here.

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