Interjection
The Interjection Copypasta is a common Copypasta used to shitpost about people who refer to the GNU/Linux system as simply Linux, and a satire on the GNU/Linux Naming Controversy. The Copypasta uses a fictional quote attributed to rms, rendered a variety of ways, appearing as if it had been posted on usenet, Google Plus, Blogger, an email thread, and an assortment of other possible communication methods. The copypasta is as follows:
Usually, it is followed by an equally nonfactual quote by Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds (or a follower of him, depending on the version of the copypasta), expressing his rebuttal:
No, Richard, it’s ‘Linux’, not ‘GNU/Linux’. The most important contributions that the FSF made to Linux were the creation of the GPL and the GCC compiler. Those are fine and inspired products. GCC is a monumental achievement and has earned you, RMS, and the Free Software Foundation countless kudos and much appreciation.
Following are some reasons for you to mull over, including some already answered in your FAQ.
One guy, Linus Torvalds, used GCC to make his operating system (yes, Linux is an OS — more on this later). He named it ‘Linux’ with a little help from his friends. Why doesn’t he call it GNU/Linux? Because he wrote it, with more help from his friends, not you. You named your stuff, I named my stuff — including the software I wrote using GCC — and Linus named his stuff. The proper name is Linux because Linus Torvalds says so. Linus has spoken. Accept his authority. To do otherwise is to become a nag. You don’t want to be known as a nag, do you?
(An operating system) != (a distribution). Linux is an operating system. By my definition, an operating system is that software which provides and limits access to hardware resources on a computer. That definition applies whereever you see Linux in use. However, Linux is usually distributed with a collection of utilities and applications to make it easily configurable as a desktop system, a server, a development box, or a graphics workstation, or whatever the user needs. In such a configuration, we have a Linux (based) distribution. Therein lies your strongest argument for the unwieldy title ‘GNU/Linux’ (when said bundled software is largely from the FSF). Go bug the distribution makers on that one. Take your beef to Red Hat, Mandrake, and Slackware. At least there you have an argument. Linux alone is an operating system that can be used in various applications without any GNU software whatsoever. Embedded applications come to mind as an obvious example.
Next, even if we limit the GNU/Linux title to the GNU-based Linux distributions, we run into another obvious problem. XFree86 may well be more important to a particular Linux installation than the sum of all the GNU contributions. More properly, shouldn’t the distribution be called XFree86/Linux? Or, at a minimum, XFree86/GNU/Linux? Of course, it would be rather arbitrary to draw the line there when many other fine contributions go unlisted. Yes, I know you’ve heard this one before. Get used to it. You’ll keep hearing it until you can cleanly counter it.
You seem to like the lines-of-code metric. There are many lines of GNU code in a typical Linux distribution. You seem to suggest that (more LOC) == (more important). However, I submit to you that raw LOC numbers do not directly correlate with importance. I would suggest that clock cycles spent on code is a better metric. For example, if my system spends 90% of its time executing XFree86 code, XFree86 is probably the single most important collection of code on my system. Even if I loaded ten times as many lines of useless bloatware on my system and I never excuted that bloatware, it certainly isn’t more important code than XFree86. Obviously, this metric isn’t perfect either, but LOC really, really sucks. Please refrain from using it ever again in supporting any argument.
Last, I’d like to point out that we Linux and GNU users shouldn’t be fighting among ourselves over naming other people’s software. But what the heck, I’m in a bad mood now. I think I’m feeling sufficiently obnoxious to make the point that GCC is so very famous and, yes, so very useful only because Linux was developed. In a show of proper respect and gratitude, shouldn’t you and everyone refer to GCC as ‘the Linux compiler’? Or at least, ‘Linux GCC’? Seriously, where would your masterpiece be without Linux? Languishing with the HURD?
If there is a moral buried in this rant, maybe it is this:
Be grateful for your abilities and your incredible success and your considerable fame. Continue to use that success and fame for good, not evil. Also, be especially grateful for Linux’ huge contribution to that success. You, RMS, the Free Software Foundation, and GNU software have reached their current high profiles largely on the back of Linux. You have changed the world. Now, go forth and don’t be a nag.
Источник
What you are referring to as linux
A quotation circulates on the Internet, attributed to me, but it wasn’t written by me.
Here’s the text that is circulating. Most of it was copied from statements I have made, but the part italicized here is not from me. It makes points that are mistaken or confused.
I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux,” and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use.
Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.
The main error is that Linux is not strictly speaking part of the GNU system—whose kernel is GNU Hurd. The version with Linux, we call “GNU/Linux.” It is OK to call it “GNU” when you want to be really short, but it is better to call it “GNU/Linux” so as to give Torvalds some credit.
We don’t use the term “corelibs,” and I am not sure what that would mean, but GNU is much more than the specific packages we developed for it. I set out in 1983 to develop an operating system, calling it GNU, and that job required developing whichever important packages we could not find elsewhere.
Available for this page:
“The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom. We defend the rights of all software users.”
Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to . There are also other ways to contact the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent to .
For information on coordinating and submitting translations of our web pages, see Translations README. —> Please see the Translations README for information on coordinating and submitting translations of this article.
Copyright © 2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Источник
Linux Subculture
Popular:
Linux
About
Linux is a family of freely available, open-source computer operating systems based around the Linux kernel. Often considered as a more complex alternative to other mainstream operating systems like Windows and Mac OS X, it is notable for its prioritization of functional utility over aesthetic appeal. Its primary market is on servers and embedded devices, but its usage in personal computers has increased in recent years, most notably with the advent of Google’s Android, Chrome OS and Steam OS.
History
The first version of Linux was developed and released on October 5th, 1991 by Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds. [2] The creation of Linux was heavily inspired by MINIX, another operating system created by professor Andrew S. Tanenbaum as a teaching tool.
The Linux Kernel
The Linux kernel, a monolithic operating system kernel, serves as the core for Linux. Torvalds at first didn’t originally intend the kernel to be cross-platform, as it was initially written with Intel i386/486 CPUs in mind [3] but has since been ported to numerous other platforms, namely PowerPC, SPARC, MIPS, and ARM, of which the latter two have been used for Android.
Android OS
Android’s open nature, unlike other mobile systems, made it an attractive platform for hobbyist development, which has led to third-party forks namely AOKP, Cyanogenmod and Replicant, a fully-libre Android distribution aiming to replace all non-free Android components and drivers with open-source equivalents. Rooting, a process that allows for full system access on one’s device is also a popular practice among hackers [4] ; numerous safeguards implemented on certain phones and tablets, notably on popular Samsung and HTC models, prevent this, but workarounds exist to defeat such restrictions.
On a typical user’s standpoint, this means more freedom compared to iOS, as installing applications, themes and media from third-party sources other than those provided by the device, e.g. Google Play or SlideME, is of trivial matter, but this has also led to bigger piracy rates owing to lax security measures.
Linus Torvalds’ 2018 Break
On September 16th, 2018, Torvalds sent an email [12] to the Linux kernel developers mailing list announcing he would be taking a break from working on Linux, saying he needed to «get some assistance on how to understand people’s emotions and respond appropriately.» In the message, Torvalds also apologized for his «flippant attacks in emails.» Meanwhile, Torvalds uploaded the Linux Code of Conduct. [13] On September 17th, Redditor emp2s0 submitted a post titled «Linux’s new CoC is a piece of shit» to /r/linux, [14] where many Redditors criticized the revised Code of Conduct as «political.» That same day, Redditor swigganicks submitted a post asking «Why is Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, taking a break?» to /r/OutOfTheLoop, [15] where it garnered more than 3,100 points (93% upvoted) and 520 comments within 24 hours. In the comments section of the post, Redditor date_glass linked to an email exchange from 2012 in which Torvalds stated that a coder should have been «retroactively aborted» (shown below). [16]
«Of course, I’d also suggest that whoever was the genius who thought it was a good idea to read things ONE F*CKING BYTE AT A TIME with system calls for each byte should be retroactively aborted. Who the f*ck does idiotic things like that? How did they not die as babies, considering that they were likely too stupid to find a tit to suck on?»
Источник
