1 Linux and the GNU system 2 3The GNU project started in 1984 with the goal of developing a complete 4free Unix-like operating system: GNU. "Free" refers to freedom, not 5price; it means you are free to run, copy, distribute, study, change, 6and improve the software. 7 8A Unix-like system consists of many different programs. We found some 9components already available as free software--for example, X Windows 10and TeX. We obtained other components by helping to convince their 11developers to make them free--for example, the Berkeley network 12utilities. This left many missing components that we had to write in 13order to produce GNU--for example, GNU Emacs, the GNU C compiler, the 14GNU C library, Bash, and Ghostscript. The GNU system consists of all 15these components together. 16 17The GNU project is not just about developing and distributing some 18useful free software. The heart of the GNU project is an idea: that 19software should be free, that software users should have freedom to 20participate in a community. To run your computer, you need an 21operating system; if it is not free, your freedom has been denied. To 22have freedom, you need a free operating system. We therefore set out 23to write one. 24 25In the long run, though, we cannot expect to keep the free operating 26system free unless the users are aware of the freedom it gives them, 27and value that freedom. People who do not appreciate their freedom 28will not keep it long. If we want to make freedom last, we need to 29spread awareness of the freedoms they have in free software. 30 31The GNU project's method is that free software and the idea of users' 32freedom support each other. We develop GNU software, and as people 33encounter GNU programs or the GNU system and start to use them, they 34also think about the GNU idea. The software shows that the idea can 35work in practice. Some of these people come to agree with the idea, 36and then they are more likely to write additional free software. 37Thus, the software embodies the idea, spreads the idea, and grows from 38the idea. 39 40Early on in the development of GNU, various parts of it became popular 41even though users needed proprietary systems to run them on. Porting 42the system to many systems and maintaining them required a lot of 43work. After that work, most GNU software is easily configured for a 44variety of different platforms. 45 46By 1991, we had found or written all of the essential major components 47of the system except the kernel, which we were writing. (This kernel 48consists of the Mach microkernel plus the GNU HURD. The first test 49release was made in 1996. Now, in 2002, it is running well, and 50Hurd-based GNU systems are starting to be used.) 51 52That was the situation when Linux came into being. Linux is a kernel, 53like the kernel of Unix; it was written by Linus Torvalds, who 54released it under the GNU General Public License. He did not write 55this kernel for GNU, but it fit into the gap in GNU. The combination 56of GNU and Linux included all the major essential components of a 57Unix-compatible operating system. Other people, with some work made 58the combination into a usable system. The principal use of Linux, the 59kernel, is as part of this combination. 60 61The popularity of the GNU/Linux combination is success, in the sense 62of popularity, for GNU. Ironically, the popularity of GNU/Linux 63undermines our method of communicating the ideas of GNU to people who 64use GNU. 65 66When GNU programs were only usable individually on top of another 67operating system, installing and using them meant knowing and 68appreciating these programs, and thus being aware of GNU, which led 69people to think about the philosophical base of GNU. Now users can 70install a unified operating system which is basically GNU, but they 71usually think these are "Linux systems". At first impression, a 72"Linux system" sounds like something completely distinct from the "GNU 73system," and that is what most users think. 74 75This leads many users to identify themselves as a separate community 76of "Linux users", distinct from the GNU user community. They use more 77than just some GNU programs, they use almost all of the GNU system, 78but they don't think of themselves as GNU users. Often they never 79hear about the GNU idea; if they do, they may not think it relates to 80them. 81 82Most introductions to the "Linux system" acknowledge that GNU software 83components play a role in it, but they don't say that the system as a 84whole is a modified version of the GNU system that the GNU project has 85been developing and compiling since Linus Torvalds was in junior high 86school. They don't say that the main reason this free operating 87exists is that the GNU Project worked persistently to achieve its goal 88of freedom. 89 90As a result, most users don't know these things. They believe that 91the "Linux system" was developed by Linus Torvalds "just for fun", and 92that their freedom is a matter of good fortune rather than the 93dedicated pursuit of freedom. This creates a danger that they will 94leave the survival of free software to fortune as well. 95 96Since human beings tend to correct their first impressions less than 97called for by additional information they learn later, these users 98will tend to continue to underestimate their connection to GNU even if 99they do learn the facts. 100 101When we began trying to support the GNU/Linux system, we found this 102widespread misinformation led to a practical problem--it hampered 103cooperation on software maintenance. Normally when users change a GNU 104program to make it work better on a particular system, they send the 105change to the maintainer of that program; then they work with the 106maintainer, explaining the change, arguing for it, and sometimes 107rewriting it for the sake of the overall coherence and maintainability 108of the package, to get the patch installed. But people who thought of 109themselves as "Linux users" showed a tendency to release a forked 110"Linux-only" version of the GNU program and consider the job done. In 111some cases we had to redo their work in order to make GNU programs run 112as released in GNU/Linux systems. 113 114How should the GNU project encourage its users to cooperate? How 115should we spread the idea that freedom for computer users is 116important? 117 118We must continue to talk about the freedom to share and change 119software--and to teach other users to value these freedoms. If we 120value having a free operating system, it makes sense to think about 121preserving those freedoms for the long term. If we value having a 122variety of free software, it makes sense to think about encouraging 123others to write free software, instead of proprietary software. 124 125However, it is not enough just to talk about freedom; we must also 126make sure people know the reasons it is worth listening to what we 127say. 128 129Long explanations such as our philosophical articles are one way of 130informing the public, but you may not want to spend so much time on 131the matter. The most effective way you can help with a small amount 132of work is simply by using the terms "Linux-based GNU system" or 133"GNU/Linux system", instead of "Linux system," when you write about or 134mention such a system. Seeing these terms will show many people the 135reason to pay attention to our philosophical articles. 136 137The system as a whole is more GNU than Linux; the name "GNU/Linux" is 138fair. When you are choosing the name of a distribution or a user 139group, a name with "GNU/Linux" will reflect both roots of the combined 140system, and will bring users into connection with both--including the 141spirit of freedom and community that is the basis and purpose of GNU. 142 143 144Copyright 1996, 2002 Richard Stallman 145Verbatim copying and redistribution is permitted 146without royalty as long as this notice is preserved. 147 148