The relationship between GNU, Linux, and Gnu/linux

From: http://os.51cto.com/art/200608/30399.htm

1. What is Linux?
2. What is GNU?
3. What is Gnu/linux?
what is Linux
It is believed that people who know some it knowledge have heard the term Linux. The Linux entry on Wikipedia is the most classic and the most accurate description (Http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux), which is applied directly, eliminating the suspicion of swim.
Linux operating System (Linux), is a computer operating system. The kernel name of the Linux operating system is also "Linux". The Linux operating system is also the most famous example of free software and open source development.
The Linux kernel was originally designed for the Intel 386 microprocessor. The Linux kernel now supports a wide range of hardware devices, from PCs to mainframe computers and even embedded systems.
At the beginning, Linux was a product of a personal passion. Now, however, Linux has become an operating system that has received widespread attention and support. Some computer giants, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard, are also starting to support Linux. Many people believe that Linux, as free software, has the advantage of being low cost, high security, and more trustworthy than other commercial UNIX systems and Microsoft Windows.
The Linux kernel was originally written by Finnish Linus Torvalds (Linus Torvalds) at the University of Helsinki for personal hobbies. Originally conceived, Linux is an operating system like Minix. The first version of Linux was published on the Internet in September 1991, followed by a second version in October.
The history of Linux is closely linked to GNU. The GNU program, which began in 1983, is dedicated to developing a free and complete Unix-like operating system, including software development tools and various applications. By the time the Linux kernel was released in 1991, GNU has almost completed the development of a variety of software prerequisites beyond the kernel of the system. GNU components can run on top of the Linux kernel with the Linus Torvalds and other developers ' efforts。 The entire kernel is based on the GNU General Public License, which is the GPL Pubic License, but the Linux kernel is not part of the GNU program.
The logo and mascot of Linux is a penguin named Tux, and the registered trademark of Linux is Linus Torvalds. This is because in 1996, a lawyer named William R. Della Croce began sending letters to various Linux publishers stating that he owned the Linux trademark and asked publishers to pay royalties, which the publishers collectively appealed, The registered trademark is required to be reassigned to Linus Torvalds.
Some versions of Linux are versions that do not need to be installed, they are called LiveCD
What is GNU
The GNU program, also known as the slave program, was publicly launched by Richard Stallman on September 27, 1983. Its goal is to create a set of completely free operating systems. Richard Stallman was the first to publish the news on the Net.unix-wizards News group, with a copy of the GNU Declaration and other articles explaining why it was launched, one of the reasons for "recreating the spirit of solidarity that the software community has cooperated in the past year."
GNU is the recursive abbreviation for "GNU's not Unix". Stallman declared that the GNU should be pronounced as Guh-noo, with the same pronunciation as canoe, to avoid confusion with the word GNU (African Wildebeest, pronounced with new). UNIX is the name of a widely used commercial operating system. Since GNU will implement the interface standards for UNIX systems, the GNU program can separately develop different operating system components. The GNU program uses parts of the software that were already freely available, such as the Tex typesetting system and the X Window Window System. But the GNU program has also developed a large number of other free software.
In order to ensure that GNU software is free to "use, reproduce, modify and distribute", all GNU software is licensed under the terms of an agreement that authorizes all rights to anyone without the addition of any restrictions to any other person, the GNU General Public License (GNU LICENSE,GPL). This is known as the "anti-copyright" (or called copyleft) concept.
In 1985, Richard Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation (Software Foundation) to provide technical, legal and financial support for the GNU program. Although the GNU program is largely voluntary and unpaid by individuals, the FSF sometimes hires programmers to help write. As the GNU program began to gain success, some commercial companies began to intervene in development and technical support. The most famous is Cygnus Solutions, who was later merged by Red Hat.
By the year 1990, the GNU program has developed software that includes a powerful text editor, emacs,c language compiler gcc, and libraries and tools for most UNIX systems. The only important component that remains unfinished is the kernel of the operating system (known as Hurd).
1991 Linus Torvalds wrote a UNIX-compatible Linux operating system kernel and released it under the GPL terms. Linux has been widely circulated online, with many programmers involved in development and modification. 1992 Linux with other GNU software combined, a completely free operating system was formally born. (Although the GNU program's own kernel Hurd is still under development, a beta version has been released.) ）
GNU software is also installed on many UNIX systems because the quality of GNU software is better than that of previous Unix software. GNU tools are also widely ported to Windows and Mac OS.
Note:The above content is from the Wikipedia GNU entry (Http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU)
Gnu/linux, what is this thing?
By answering the above two questions, it is clear that we can noticeLinux is just an operating system kernel, and GNU offers a lot of free software to enrich the various applications on top of it。
So, strictly speaking, the word Linux itself only represents the Linux kernel, but in fact people are accustomed to using Linux to describe the entire Linux kernel, and use the GNU engineering various tools and databases of the operating system. Linux software based on these components is known as a Linux distribution. Generally speaking, a Linux distribution kit contains a large number of software, such as software development tools, databases, Web servers (such as Apache), X Window, desktop environments (such as GNOME and KDE), office suites (such as OpenOffice.org), and so on.
The vast majority of Linux kernel-based operating systems use a large number of GNU software, including a shell program, tools, libraries, compilers and tools, and many other programs, such as Emacs. It was because Linux used many GNU programs that Dr. Richard Stallman, the founder of the GNU program, proposed renaming the Linux operating system to gnu/linux. But some people only call the operating system "Linux".
Some Linux packages, including Debian, are called "Gnu/linux". But most commercial Linux suites still call the operating system Linux. Some people also think that the term "operating system" refers to the kernel of the system, other programs are only application software, so that the kernel of the operating system is called Linux, and the Linux suite is based on the Linux kernel to join the various GNU tools.
Some people who refuse to use "Gnu/linux" as the operating system name say:
1. Linux is catchy; the name is short and good to remember;
2. Dr. Richard Stallman was not asked to change its name until the 1990 's, when Linux became popular.
Conclusion
I believe that readers who insist on reading these kuse words must understand the issues that I need to discuss, and we often say that Linux, to be exact, should be called "Gnu/linux". While we are not contributing to the development of GNU and Linux, we can make a modest effort to promote and apply GNU and Linux, and at least we can pinpoint the difference between GNU, Linux, and Gnu/linux. Let us together for the promotion of gnu/linux to contribute their own strength!

The relationship between GNU, Linux, and Gnu/linux