An old flamewar. Typically, with much heat and little light. Some arguments are needed, I believe.<\/p>\n
There are a lot of arguments in favor of ‘Linux’. It is hard to deny that it is far shorter and more memorable than ‘GNU\/Linux’. It is a name that can be remembered even by a non-techie. A name that is good for using in an ad (and we live in an ad world these days). To sum it all in one word, it is the far more convenient – and the convenience is a huge point.<\/p>\n
Also, Linux is the kernel of that ‘revolution OS’ – and the kernel is the central and arguably most important piece of any OS. There is a point in the opinion that if the OS should be named after a part of it, this part ought to be the kernel. In many places, esp. embedded devices, the OS consists of the kernel and a BusyBox “suite”, with nothing or almost nothing from the GNU toolchain – and still works.<\/p>\n
Finally, most people just are used to calling the OS ‘Linux’, and names are just that – names. One should use what people are used to. No sense in inventing a new language.<\/p>\n
However, there are also arguments in favor of ‘GNU\/Linux’ – probably even more.<\/p>\n
GNU is the project that started this operating system, in 1984. At 1991, when the first version of Linux appeared, GNU was a complete OS that lacked only a working kernel – the GNU Mach kernel was still struggling. If Linux hadn’t appeared (and attracted the would-be kernel developers), GNU Mach would eventually take off, maybe an year later, but still the GNU OS would exist. And by now the delay would probably be compensated for. In this category, GNU scores a point against Linux.<\/p>\n
The Linux kernel itself exists due to the GNU toolchain (it is written, compiled and tested with it), and what is more important, due to the GNU inspiration. It is true that Linus Torwalds could have used the BSD toolchain, but I very much doubt that BSD would have inspired him to make his own kernel. The BSD kernel was already pretty good at this time, far beyond what a student could write. And Linus was never in love with the BSD license. There is no definite proof, but one of the most pro-‘Linux’ arguments seems to be shot down.<\/p>\n
It is true that the kernel is the central piece of an OS. However, it is not only the position, but also the amount of good work that earns a credit. Writing the GNU toolchain requires about the same level of programmer skills. And in a typical desktop or server installation, the amount of GNU code dwarfs that of the Linux code, at average five to one. (BTW, if you have OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice installed, they also have a bigger codebase than the Linux kernel.) One more point for GNU.<\/p>\n
BTW, it is true that the Linux kernel is an amazing piece of software. However, the GNU toolchain is also the frontrunner in its track. GCC, bash, glibc, the userland utils are typically considered the best or among the best in existence. It is hard to show a winner here.<\/p>\n
It is true that the GNU toolchain is not mandatory for a Linux installation. However, there are also distros that contain GNU, but not Linux. For example, Debian sports quite well developed kFreeBSD and kFreeBSD64 platforms, based on the FreeBSD kernel. (In the Debian nomenclature, these are called ‘Debian GNU\/kFreeBSD’, similarly to ‘Debian GNU\/Linux’.) No clear winner here, either.<\/p>\n
And undoubtedly, ‘Linux’ sounds far more convenient, brass and sexy than ‘GNU\/Linux’. However, ‘GNU’ only sounds even more convenient – one syllable instead of two. \ud83d\ude42 It is a matter of taste here, but to me the name ‘GNU’ seems more convenient than ‘Linux’. And probably will seem at least equal to a lot of people.<\/p>\n
As for what the people are used to call it – the vast majority of the people don’t call this OS ‘Linux’ either. They call it ‘Android’. Should we abandon ‘Linux’ for their convenience? If no, then we shouldn’t also abandon the ‘GNU’ part, I think.<\/p>\n
What if we have to call this OS by the name of its leading component? Summing it all, I see more sense in calling it ‘GNU’ than ‘Linux’.<\/p>\n
But what is the really better way to call it?<\/p>\n
I think this depends on the speaker. Those who are all about convenience and none for actual credit will undoubtedly go for ‘Linux’. However, the name that gives proper credit is ‘GNU\/Linux’, or even ‘GNU’. And giving credit where credit is due is not simply ‘the hacker ethics’ that motivates the free software coders and keeps their society from falling apart. It is also the fundamental principle of the justice and thus the well-founded self-esteem.<\/p>\n
For me, when in a hurry or in a situation that will risk being misunderstood otherwise, I will still call it ‘Linux’. However, in all other cases I would try to use ‘GNU\/Linux’.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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