Linux

[Jeremy Turner]

Jonathan Hutchins (hutchins at tarcanfel.org) wrote:
>
> On Tuesday 26 October 2004 12:42 pm, D. Joe wrote:
>
> > ... they screw-up [by] calling Linux an "operating system"
> > rather than a kernel.
>
> Linux is more than an Operating System or a Kernel.  It's a philosophy and for
> some people a lifestyle, maybe even a religion.
>
> Seriously, when most people say "Linux" they mean the GNU Linux Suite with a
> FOSS GUI, desktop, and a load of useful software - in short, they mean a
> whole distro, not a kernel.

I believe Stallman was the one to ask it be called GNU/Linux because of the
GNU utilities added onto the Linux kernel.  However, we now have a melting pot
of all sorts of GUI libraries, desktop environments, server applications, etc.
 It's no longer just a kernel and unix-like utilities.

My favorite clip I read recently was about Debian's package management system,
dpkg, which used to stand for "Debian GNU/Linux package manager." Now, dpkg is
used is non-Debian and non-Linux environments, so it no longer stands for
anything.  Maybe they could rename it to asdf and make it easier to type. =)

Jeremy

-- 
--
Jeremy Turner <jeremy at linuxwebguy.com>
Linux Tips! ---> http://linuxwebguy.com