computer science

GNU/Linux naming controversy

GNU/Linux naming controversy is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand GNU/Linux naming controversy rather than just read about it. In short: Since the 1990s, there has been ongoing debate over whether operating systems that use the Linux kernel in combination with GNU software should be referred to as Linux or GNU/Linux. Supporters of the term Linux argue that it is more widely used in the media and by the general public, and that it serves as a practical shorthand for systems that combine the Linux kernel with software from a variety of sources, includi…

Key takeaways

GNU/Linux naming controversy belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect GNU/Linux naming controversy to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of GNU/Linux naming controversy from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Since the 1990s, there has been ongoing debate over whether operating systems that use the Linux kernel in combination with GNU software should be referred to as Linux or GNU/Linux. Supporters of the term Linux argue that it is more widely used in the media and by the general public, and that it serves as a practical shorthand for systems that combine the Linux kernel with software from a variety of sources, including the GNU Project. Advocates of the term GNU/Linux, including the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and its founder Richard Stallman, argue that the name acknowledges the contributions of the GNU Project, particularly how the Linux kernel was added on top of the original GNU operating system. Several distributions, such as Trisquel and Parabola GNU/Linux-libre, use this naming convention.

History In 1983, Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, set forth plans of a complete Unix-like operating system, called GNU, composed entirely of free software. In September of that year, Stallman published a manifesto in Dr. Dobb's Journal detailing his new project publicly, outlining his vision of free software. Software development work began in January 1984. By 1991, the GNU mid-level portions of the operating system were almost complete, and the upper level could be supplied by the X Window System, but the lower level (kernel, device drivers, system-level utilities and daemons) was still mostly lacking. The kernel officially developed by GNU was called GNU Hurd. The Hurd kernel followed an ambitious microkernel design, which proved unexpectedly difficult to implement early on. However, in 1991, Linus Torvalds independently released the first version of the Linux kernel. Early Linux developers ported GNU code, including the GNU C Compiler, to run with Linux, while the free software community adopted the use of the Linux kernel as the missing kernel for the GNU operating system. This work filled the remaining gaps in providing a completely free operating system. Over the next few years, several suggestions arose for naming operating systems using the Linux kernel and GNU components. In 1992, the Yggdrasil Linux distribution adopted the name "Linux/GNU/X". In Usenet and mailing-list discussions, usages of "GNU/Linux" can be found as early as 1992, and of "GNU+Linux" as early as 1993. The Debian project, which was at one time sponsored by the Free Software Foundation, switched to calling its product "Debian GNU/Linux" in early 1994. This change followed a request by Richard Stallman (who initially proposed "Lignux," but suggested "GNU/Linux" instead after hearing complaints about the awkwardness of the former term). GNU's June 1994 Bulletin described "Linux" as a "free Unix system for 386 machines" (with "many of the utilities and libraries" from GNU), but the January 1995 Bulletin switched to the term "GNU/Linux" instead. Stallman's and the FSF's efforts to include "GNU" in the name started around 1994, but were reportedly mostly via private communications (such as the above-mentioned request to Debian) until 1996. In May 1996, Stallman released Emacs 19.31 with the Autoconf system target "linux" changed to "lignux" (shortly thereafter changed to "linux-gnu" in emacs 19.32), and included an essay "Linux and the GNU system" suggesting that people use the terms "Linux-based GNU system" (or "GNU/Linux system" or "Lignux" for short). He later used "GNU/Linux" exclusively, and the essay was superseded by Stallman's 1997 essay, "Linux and the GNU System".

Composition of operating systems Modern free software and open-source software operating systems are composed of software by many different authors, including the Linux kernel developers, the GNU project, and other vendors such as those behind the X Window System. Desktop and server-based distributions use GNU software such as the GNU C Library (glibc), GNU Core Utilities (coreutils), GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), GNU Binutils, GNU gzip, GNU tar, GNU gettext, GNU grep, GNU awk, GNU sed, GNU Findutils, gnupg, libgcrypt, gnutls, GRUB, GNU readline, GNU ncurses, and the Bash shell. In a 2002 analysis of the source code for Red Hat Linux 7.1, a typical Linux distribution, the total size of the packages from the GNU project was found to be much larger than the Linux kernel. Later, a 2011 analysis of the Ubuntu distribution's "Natty" release main repository found that 8% to 13% of it consisted of GNU components (the range depending on whether GNOME is considered part of GNU), while only 6% is taken by the Linux kernel (9% when including its direct dependencies). Determining exactly what constitutes the "operating system" per se is a matter of continuing debate. On the other hand, some embedded systems, such as handheld devices and smartphones (like Google's Android), residential gateways (routers), and Voice over IP devices, are engineered with space efficiency in mind and use a Linux kernel with few or no components of GNU, due to perceived issues surrounding bloat, and impeded performance. A system running μClinux is likely to substitute uClibc for glibc, and BusyBox for coreutils. Google's Linux-based Android operating system does not use any GNU components or libraries, using Google's own BSD-based Bionic C library in place of glibc. The FSF agrees that "GNU/Linux" is not an appropriate name for these systems. Chimera Linux is a desktop Linux distribution with FreeBSD software used in place of some GNU packages (such as musl libc in place of glibc and FreeBSD base utils in place of GNU coreutils, although many GNU packages, such as GRUB, nano, less, gnuTLS, gmp, libidn2, libtasn1, ncurses, readline and libunistring are included in the default install). There are also systems that use a GNU userspace and/or C library on top of a non-Linux kernel, for example Debian GNU/Hurd (GNU userland on the GNU kernel) or Debian GNU/kFreeBSD (which uses GNU, including the GNU coreutils and glibc with the kernel from FreeBSD).

Opinions

GNU/Linux The FSF justifies the name "GNU/Linux" primarily on the grounds that the GNU project was specifically developing a complete system, of which they argue that the Linux kernel filled one of the final gaps; the large number of GNU components and GNU source code used in such systems is a secondary argument:

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with GNU/Linux naming controversy

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what GNU/Linux naming controversy claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to GNU/Linux naming controversy before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about GNU/Linux naming controversy ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of GNU/Linux naming controversy

In research: GNU/Linux naming controversy appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses GNU/Linux naming controversy in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: GNU/Linux naming controversy is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1994 controversies, Computing-related controversies, Computing terminology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for GNU/Linux naming controversy outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study GNU/Linux naming controversy in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what GNU/Linux naming controversy means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain GNU/Linux naming controversy out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is GNU/Linux naming controversy in simple terms?

Why does GNU/Linux naming controversy matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study GNU/Linux naming controversy?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on GNU/Linux naming controversy.