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A kernel does not make an operating system, you need an userland for it to be useful. And that was GNU.
by creshal 10y ago
A kernel does not make an operating system, you need an userland for it to be useful.
And that was GNU.
- olalonde 10y agoAh ok, I see what you mean. I've always thought of "operating system" as the kernel itself (and some set of user land tools as a "distribution") but I can see how it could be interpreted differently.
- umanwizard 10y agoI mean, what counts as the "operating system" is not the point here. It's that, whatever "UNIX" is (operating system, distribution, or whatever you want to call it), is more than just the kernel, and can't meaningfully be said to be replicated by Linux without mentioning GNU.
- mikekchar 10y agoI have found the easiest way for people to understand it is: Android runs a Linux kernel. The systems we often call "Linux" systems are really Linux + GNU + X to get to the same kind of place.
- the_why_of_y 10y agoThat is an interpretation at odds with UNIX history, and basically only applicable to Linux, which is the exception to the rule. I suggest reading this article, it's written for FreeBSD but applies very similarly to Solaris etc. https://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/03 https://www.over-yonder.net/~fullermd/rants/bsd4linux/03