What Is GNU?

GNU stands for GNU's Not UNIX, a project started by Richard M. Stallman in 1984. The goal was to develop an open source operating system that would be freely distributed to anyone who wanted it. At that time, there were no viable operating systems that were not proprietary. GNU was intended to remedy the situation.

GNU intended to develop all the programs needed to produce a complete operating system, including a kernel, a shell (the program that interfaces between the user and the kernel), utilities, compilers, text editors, mail software, etc. GNU intended to provide all the programs necessary so that users would not need to use any proprietary software. GNU is philosophically opposed to proprietary software.

GNU coordinated the development of many programs simultaneously, guided by a to-do list of programs needed/wanted. Programs were released as soon as they were developed, not waiting for the complete system to be ready. Many users downloaded the programs and used them on UNIX systems. Among the first programs to be released were a GNU c compiler (gcc) and a text editor (EMACS). GNU continues developing software into the present and the foreseeable future, as well as maintaining and updating its existing programs.

By 1992, GNU had all the necessary programs, except that their kernel wasn't ready. However, Linus Torvald's Linux kernel was available, so GNU combined their software with the Linux kernel to make a complete operating system. The Linux kernel plus GNU programs plus additional programs and applications comprise the Linux system that sits on most computers today. The combination of programs is put together by individuals or companies into distributions, the software package that is installed on most computers. Linux distributions are discussed in Chapter 2.