History of GNU/Linux
In order to comprehend Linux, it is necessary to first acknowledge its predecessor: Unix, an OS created at AT&T Bell Labs in 1969. The development of Unix led to the creation of POSIX, also known as Portable Operating System Interface, aimed at standardizing to guarantee compatibility among various systems. Its impact is still significant in the present day, as Mac OS, Android, FreeBSD, and the majority of Linux distributions adhere to the POSIX standards.
The Unix Operating System was created by some Computer Science pioneers, a few of them being also B and C programming languages developers, and it is considered the first portable OS. Because over time Unix became more proprietary, the GNU Project, founded by Richard Stallman in 1983, aimed to develop a free Unix-compatible system, work commencing in 1984.
Stallman also founded the Free Software Foundation in 1985 and authored the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) in 1989. In the early 1990s, the majority of elements in an operating system like libraries, compilers, text editors, a command-line shell, and a windowing system were finished. Yet, essential basic components such as device drivers, daemons, and the kernel, named GNU Hurd, had not reached full completion.
In 1987, Minix OS, an operating system created for educational purposes, had also limitations on sharing its code. This fact served as inspiration for Finnish engineer Linus Torvalds to develop the Linux kernel using the C programming language, and it was released in September 1991 on the FTP server of the Finnish University and Research Network (FUNET).
Torvalds started working on the Linux kernel while using Minix, and applications designed for Minix were also compatible with Linux. Afterwards, Linux grew and more improvements were made to the Linux kernel on Linux systems. GNU software replaced Minix components due to the benefits of using code from the GNU Project with the new operating system; GNU GPL licensed code can be utilized in other programs under certain conditions. Torvalds began to transition from his original license, which banned commercial redistribution, to the GNU GPL. Programmers collaborated to merge GNU elements with the Linux kernel, producing a completely operational and costless operating system. If the GNU kernel had been made available, Linus Torvalds believed that it would not have been worth developing a Linux kernel.
In GNU’s Bulletin in June 1994, Linux was described as a free UNIX clone, and the Debian project started to name its release Debian GNU/Linux. In May 1996, Richard Stallman released Emacs 19.31, where the system type was changed from Linux to Lignux, as the combination of GNU and Linux, but was quickly replaced with GNU/Linux, a name that is used by the GNU and Debian projects, while most distros and people still calling it Linux.
Post Comment