A Linux distro is much more than GNU software. A lot of things I use everyday ar...

Digital-Citizen · on July 27, 2019

> A lot of things I use everyday are BSD licensed. > Stallman cannot really make any such demands.

That those programs are licensed under one of the BSD licenses doesn't have anything to do with Stallman's use of the term "GNU/Linux" and recommendation that others join him in using the term "GNU/Linux". This is not a "demand" as you claim. Stallman explains his position in brief in https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Linux , at length in https://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html and there's a FAQ as well.

In fact the specific point you raise has been raised before and is addressed quite well across multiple questions in the FSF's FAQ on the term GNU/Linux:

https://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html#others -- Many other projects contributed to the system as it is today, but they don't insist on calling it XYZ/Linux. Why should we treat GNU specially?

https://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html#distronames0 -- My distro's developers call it “Foobar Linux”, but that doesn't say anything about what the system consists of. Why shouldn't they call it whatever they like?

https://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html#bsd -- Should we say “GNU/BSD” too?

For a while Debian has distributed multiple systems where GNU was the predominant OS atop other kernels--GNU/Linux, GNU/kFreeBSD, and GNU/Hurd. It helps people understand the major components involved by naming things according to what they are. Such naming is also fair to those who ask for a share of the credit for their major contribution to the overall work, as the GNU Project asks people to give them a share of the credit for their major contribution.

rootietootie · on July 25, 2019

Not true. GNU coreutils comes standard on most distros.

>There are distros where the only gnu code is the kernel.

What? GNU never finished Hurd kernel and that is why it is now GNU/Linux because Linux was the missing piece since they could not get Hurd working. In other words, there is no GNU kernel. Please don't just make things up.

panpanna · on July 25, 2019

Nobody is talking about Hurd.

Alpine Linux for example replaces libc with musl and gnu binaries with BusyBox.

aidenn0 · on July 25, 2019

That does raise the question, can I safely not call a busybox based distribution GNU/Linux in front of RMS, particularly if it uses uClibc?

lixtra · on July 25, 2019

Don’t you need gcc to compile the Linux kernel? At least it was like this for a very long time.

aidenn0 · on July 25, 2019

Nobody in GNU is suggesting that all software compiled with gcc must be called GNU.

aidenn0 · on July 25, 2019

The Linux kernel is not GNU code.

dragonwriter · on July 25, 2019

> There are distros where the only gnu code is the kernel.

What, like Hurd with a non-GNU userland? Where? I know there is Debian with Hurd, but that still uses GNU userland.

shmerl · on July 25, 2019

Arguably, most of the components end users care about (like desktop environment) have nothing to do with the GNU project.

the_why_of_y · on July 25, 2019

The G in GNOME originally stood for GNU, actually.

Gnome is still listed as a GNU package here: https://www.gnu.org/software/software.html

Today, however, Gnome is a rather independent project, with its own GNOME Foundation.

(There was also GNUStep but it was never popular)

shmerl · on July 25, 2019

Gnome may be (historically), but other DEs like KDE were never associated with it.