EXPLAIN: What’s the Difference Between ‘Linux’ and ‘GNU/Linux’?
In common conversation they are usually used interchangeably.
In the midst of time there came a point where Linus Torvalds and the GNU Project crossed paths. Linus had finished the Linux kernel, but had no operating system to put it into. Richard M Stallman and his crew at the GNU Project had just completed the GNU operating system, but had no kernel to put into it.
Thay mated and gave us the first GNU/Linux operating system.
Modern day GNU/Linux distros contain varying degrees of GNU tools in them. Therefore some people feel that the need to refer to it as GNU/Linux has passed and they merely refer to the OS as ‘Linux’. Some people, such as myself, feel it is proper to give the GNU Project a nod for their part in bringing this thing to fruition and therefore continue to (try) to refer to is as ‘GNU/Linux’.
It is much more common to hear the Debian distribution referred to as ‘GNU/Linux’ because at one point the GNU Project supported an entire Debian released containing only GNU tools.
The GNU Project believes that the name ‘Linux’ should be used to refer only to the operating system kernel and the name ‘GNU/Linux’ be used when referring to the entire operating system.
Make sense?
Read the GNU Project’s own words on the matter.
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1 opinion for EXPLAIN: What’s the Difference Between ‘Linux’ and ‘GNU/Linux’?
New Linux User » Explanation: Will Linux Run On That?
Dec 14, 2005 at 7:09 pm
[…] In an early episode of the GNU/Linux User Show, Kelly asked me on air if she could run GNU/Linux on her Mac. Without thinking I said ‘No, you need an intel processor’. Well, holy moly - the emails sure flew that week. Close to 100 listeners emailed me to tell me what a dork I was and to point out just how many platforms Linux will run on (I’m using ‘Linux’ here because in some cases we’re only talking about the Linux kernel with specialized operating system components). […]
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