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  4. - What means "GNU"?

- What means "GNU"?

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  • N Nish Nishant

    See http://www.gnu.org/ Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain

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    Maer727
    wrote on last edited by
    #5

    - Thanks, Nish pal! - After a qiuck view of "http://www.gnu.org/", I still do not find the definition of GNU. - Can you help? - Regards, Maer

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    • M Maer727

      - Thanks, Nish pal! - After a qiuck view of "http://www.gnu.org/", I still do not find the definition of GNU. - Can you help? - Regards, Maer

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      Nish Nishant
      wrote on last edited by
      #6

      The word 'gnu' originates from the animal with the same name. I think it is an animal that looks like a deer with long shapely horns. GNU has a recursive definition of Gnu is Not Unix Richard M Stallman was inspired by the 'Not Unix' part and so wanted to have a GNU OS. Right now GNU has all the required UNIX binaries except for the kernel. That's why we have GNU/Linux - which is basically a UNIX distribution with the GNU tools and utilities running on top of a Linux kernel RMS [Stallman] and gang will soon release the HURD kernel which is the GNU kernel. Once that is finished we will have a GNU operating system [no linux] Hope this helps.... Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain

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      • N Nish Nishant

        The word 'gnu' originates from the animal with the same name. I think it is an animal that looks like a deer with long shapely horns. GNU has a recursive definition of Gnu is Not Unix Richard M Stallman was inspired by the 'Not Unix' part and so wanted to have a GNU OS. Right now GNU has all the required UNIX binaries except for the kernel. That's why we have GNU/Linux - which is basically a UNIX distribution with the GNU tools and utilities running on top of a Linux kernel RMS [Stallman] and gang will soon release the HURD kernel which is the GNU kernel. Once that is finished we will have a GNU operating system [no linux] Hope this helps.... Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain

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        Maer727
        wrote on last edited by
        #7

        - Thanks, Nish pal! - What means "UNIX binaries" in your reply? - Regards, Maer

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        • M Maer727

          - Thanks, Nish pal! - What means "UNIX binaries" in your reply? - Regards, Maer

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          Nish Nishant
          wrote on last edited by
          #8

          The executable files like ls and cat Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain

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          • N Nish Nishant

            The executable files like ls and cat Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain

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            Maer727
            wrote on last edited by
            #9

            - Thanks, Nish pal! - I still have a question. Why they do not use the UNIX kernel? I think the UNIX kernel is nice kernel. - Can you help? - Regards, Maer

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            • N Nish Nishant

              The word 'gnu' originates from the animal with the same name. I think it is an animal that looks like a deer with long shapely horns. GNU has a recursive definition of Gnu is Not Unix Richard M Stallman was inspired by the 'Not Unix' part and so wanted to have a GNU OS. Right now GNU has all the required UNIX binaries except for the kernel. That's why we have GNU/Linux - which is basically a UNIX distribution with the GNU tools and utilities running on top of a Linux kernel RMS [Stallman] and gang will soon release the HURD kernel which is the GNU kernel. Once that is finished we will have a GNU operating system [no linux] Hope this helps.... Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain

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              Steen Krogsgaard
              wrote on last edited by
              #10

              If my memory serves my right the deer with the long shapely horns is an Oryx antilope. The gnu is also called a wilderbeest, lives on the big plains in Africa (saw them myself on a safari to Kenya), notably on the Masai Mara plain spanning Kenya and Tanzania. Here they migrate from north to south (and back, obviously :) ) in flocks counting millions of individuals. It was a gnu stampeed that killed Simba's father in Lion King. Gnus look like a smallish, ugly ox. So why anybody would name a Unix clone after this is beyond my comprehension ;) Cheers Steen. "To claim that computer games influence children is rediculous. If Pacman had influenced children born in the 80'ies we would see a lot of youngsters running around in dark rooms eating pills while listening to monotonous music"

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              • M Maer727

                - Thanks, Nish pal! - I still have a question. Why they do not use the UNIX kernel? I think the UNIX kernel is nice kernel. - Can you help? - Regards, Maer

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                Nish Nishant
                wrote on last edited by
                #11

                Presumably because the UNIX kernel is not free nor is it open-source. I could be wrong though. And there might be other legal issues involved. Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain

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                • S Steen Krogsgaard

                  If my memory serves my right the deer with the long shapely horns is an Oryx antilope. The gnu is also called a wilderbeest, lives on the big plains in Africa (saw them myself on a safari to Kenya), notably on the Masai Mara plain spanning Kenya and Tanzania. Here they migrate from north to south (and back, obviously :) ) in flocks counting millions of individuals. It was a gnu stampeed that killed Simba's father in Lion King. Gnus look like a smallish, ugly ox. So why anybody would name a Unix clone after this is beyond my comprehension ;) Cheers Steen. "To claim that computer games influence children is rediculous. If Pacman had influenced children born in the 80'ies we would see a lot of youngsters running around in dark rooms eating pills while listening to monotonous music"

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                  Nish Nishant
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #12

                  So why anybody would name a Unix clone after this is beyond my comprehension ;) they kinda like animals even imaginary ones gnu, gnome, jackal, tomcat... and tux is a penguin of all animals !!! Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain

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                  • M Maer727

                    - Thanks pal! - What means "GNU's not Unix"? - Can you help? - Regards, Maer

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                    moliate
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #13

                    It a bit of a joke. It is supposed to be the first recursive name. GNU can be expanded like: GNU GNU´s not UNIX GNU´s not´s UNIX not UNIX GNU´s not´s UNIX not´s UNIX not UNIX ..... It was introduced by Richard Stallmann, who started Free Software Foundation and has made countless valuable contributions to the computer society (like emacs). Most of the linux operating system is based on GNU software (although Torvalds gets the honor for the kernel). The reason for creating GNU and GPL (GNU General Public Licence) was to fight Non-Free software (like UNIX), where the source is not available, and the user is bound by his licence. GPL does not prohibit any use of the source, as long as the final product is also released under GPL. There is also a lesser strict licence mostly used by GNU libraries, allowing developers to use GNU compilers (like gcc) to build non-free applications.

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                    • M moliate

                      It a bit of a joke. It is supposed to be the first recursive name. GNU can be expanded like: GNU GNU´s not UNIX GNU´s not´s UNIX not UNIX GNU´s not´s UNIX not´s UNIX not UNIX ..... It was introduced by Richard Stallmann, who started Free Software Foundation and has made countless valuable contributions to the computer society (like emacs). Most of the linux operating system is based on GNU software (although Torvalds gets the honor for the kernel). The reason for creating GNU and GPL (GNU General Public Licence) was to fight Non-Free software (like UNIX), where the source is not available, and the user is bound by his licence. GPL does not prohibit any use of the source, as long as the final product is also released under GPL. There is also a lesser strict licence mostly used by GNU libraries, allowing developers to use GNU compilers (like gcc) to build non-free applications.

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                      Maer727
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #14

                      - Thanks, moliate pal! - Your reply helps a lot. But I still have a question. I still do not understand the literal meaning of GNU (the meaning of letter "G" ). Is it just a joke? - Can you help? - Have a nice weekend, Maer

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                      • M Maer727

                        - Thanks, moliate pal! - Your reply helps a lot. But I still have a question. I still do not understand the literal meaning of GNU (the meaning of letter "G" ). Is it just a joke? - Can you help? - Have a nice weekend, Maer

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                        Nish Nishant
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #15

                        It does not have any literal meaning. It is a word,"gnu" as I already told you, which is an animal's name. Later on, they added this recursive expansion, partly in humor Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain
                        www.busterboy.org
                        Nish is a BIG fan of Goran Ivanisevic

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                        • M Maer727

                          - What means "GNU"? - Can you help? - Regards, Maer

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                          Jim A Johnson
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #16

                          In essence, it means nothing. Unix people have a wierd sense of humor. There is another famous Unix program called Yacc (which I think stands for "Yet Another Compiler Compiler"), and another named Bison (who knows what that means? Anyway, these are both ruminants (ie cattle), so whatever joker came up with the Gnu project decided to name it after yet another herdbeast. (Why they didn't name it BULL is beyond me.) Later, some clown decided to get funny and tag a meaningless recursive definition to the name: Gnu's Not Unix. Yawn. I hate to think what these nuts name their kids.

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                          • M Maer727

                            - Thanks, moliate pal! - Your reply helps a lot. But I still have a question. I still do not understand the literal meaning of GNU (the meaning of letter "G" ). Is it just a joke? - Can you help? - Have a nice weekend, Maer

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                            moliate
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #17

                            Nish is right. The central part here is "Not UNIX", which would give an recursive acronyme like '_NU'. One of the few english words that would fit that template would be 'gnu'...

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                            • N Nish Nishant

                              It does not have any literal meaning. It is a word,"gnu" as I already told you, which is an animal's name. Later on, they added this recursive expansion, partly in humor Nish Sonork ID 100.9786 voidmain
                              www.busterboy.org
                              Nish is a BIG fan of Goran Ivanisevic

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                              Maer727
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #18

                              - Thanks, Nish pal! - Your reply have clarified all my doubts. - Have a nice weekend, Maer

                              1 Reply Last reply
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                              • J Jim A Johnson

                                In essence, it means nothing. Unix people have a wierd sense of humor. There is another famous Unix program called Yacc (which I think stands for "Yet Another Compiler Compiler"), and another named Bison (who knows what that means? Anyway, these are both ruminants (ie cattle), so whatever joker came up with the Gnu project decided to name it after yet another herdbeast. (Why they didn't name it BULL is beyond me.) Later, some clown decided to get funny and tag a meaningless recursive definition to the name: Gnu's Not Unix. Yawn. I hate to think what these nuts name their kids.

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                                Maer727
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #19

                                - Thanks, Jim pal! - Yep, I think you are right and smart. You must be a fan of UNIX. - Well, another question arises in my head. I do not know why they do not use the UNIX kernel and write a new version of their own. Why not just implement the binaries of UNIX and use the UNIX kernel? It is a nice kernel, isn't it? - Can you help? - Have a nice weekend, Maer

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                                • M moliate

                                  Nish is right. The central part here is "Not UNIX", which would give an recursive acronyme like '_NU'. One of the few english words that would fit that template would be 'gnu'...

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                                  Maer727
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #20

                                  - Thanks, moliate pal! - Yep, I think you are right and smart. You must be a fan of UNIX. - Well, another question arises in my head. I do not know why they do not use the UNIX kernel and write a new version of their own. Why not just implement the binaries of UNIX and use the UNIX kernel? It is a nice kernel, isn't it? - Can you help? - Have a nice weekend, Maer

                                  M 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • M Maer727

                                    - Thanks, moliate pal! - Yep, I think you are right and smart. You must be a fan of UNIX. - Well, another question arises in my head. I do not know why they do not use the UNIX kernel and write a new version of their own. Why not just implement the binaries of UNIX and use the UNIX kernel? It is a nice kernel, isn't it? - Can you help? - Have a nice weekend, Maer

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                                    moliate
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #21

                                    The keyword is "Free software" (guess that is two words). In Swedish there are two different words: "gratis", meaning "free of cost" and "fri", meaning free in the liberty sense. GNU software use both definitions. That means you can do all the things below: (From the GNU hompage)

                                    • The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
                                    • The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
                                    • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
                                    • The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits. (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

                                    There is a whole family of UNIX-like OS:es and kernels, like BSD, freeBSD, Linux, AIX, XENIX, HP-UX, SCO, Solaris.... Most of them are not "Free" in any definition and does not make the source available. GNU did not write any kernel, but provide a lot of functionality that make up the OS, like the most common shellcommands (Fileutils). Stallman himself is an idealist and don't use any "Non-Free" software. > - Yep, I think you are right and smart. You must be a fan of UNIX. Thanks :-D. I am a Windows programmer, like most of us in here, but I have done some occational Linux programming (and some on "non-free" Solaris).

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                                    • M moliate

                                      The keyword is "Free software" (guess that is two words). In Swedish there are two different words: "gratis", meaning "free of cost" and "fri", meaning free in the liberty sense. GNU software use both definitions. That means you can do all the things below: (From the GNU hompage)

                                      • The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
                                      • The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
                                      • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
                                      • The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits. (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

                                      There is a whole family of UNIX-like OS:es and kernels, like BSD, freeBSD, Linux, AIX, XENIX, HP-UX, SCO, Solaris.... Most of them are not "Free" in any definition and does not make the source available. GNU did not write any kernel, but provide a lot of functionality that make up the OS, like the most common shellcommands (Fileutils). Stallman himself is an idealist and don't use any "Non-Free" software. > - Yep, I think you are right and smart. You must be a fan of UNIX. Thanks :-D. I am a Windows programmer, like most of us in here, but I have done some occational Linux programming (and some on "non-free" Solaris).

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                                      Maer727
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #22

                                      - Thanks pal! - Your reply helps a lot. I still have a question. - What means "es" in your reply? (" ... es and kernels ... " ) - Can you help me, a newbie? - Have a nice weekend, Maer

                                      M 1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • M Maer727

                                        - Thanks pal! - Your reply helps a lot. I still have a question. - What means "es" in your reply? (" ... es and kernels ... " ) - Can you help me, a newbie? - Have a nice weekend, Maer

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                                        moliate
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #23

                                        That was a unsuccessful attempt to find a plural form for OS. I should have written "operating systems" instead.. ;) /*english is not my first language* moliate

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