[GRLUG] What is Linux ?

[Michael Mol]

Linux is the de jure name of the kernel.  But it is also the de facto
name of the paradigm surrounding the construction of virtually every
Linux distribution.

That paradigm is what draws people to using software dependent on the
Linux kernel.  The kernel itself doesn't draw many users.

(Though I think it would be pretty cool to see a distro which was
nothing more than a multi-threaded Forth interpreter on top of the
Linux kernel.)

On 3/23/07, John J Foerch <jjfoerch at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Linux is a kernel.  No offense to anybody on this list but
> people who say Linux is an operating system are flat wrong,
> and that's all there is to it.
>
> my 2 cents,
> --John
>
> Bob Kline writes:
>  > Just an out of the way discussion item:
>  > what is Linux?
>  >
>  > We are a LUG,  which in a funny way
>  > means that as long as you use Linux,
>  > you are free to discuss anything under
>  > the sun.
>  >
>  > But of course few here will see it that
>  > way.  What the GRLUG mostly discusses
>  > are Linux applications,  and less so the
>  > Linux OS itself.  And Linux applications
>  > are often as not Linux versions of a
>  > package,  and except for shared experience
>  > have little to do with Linux as an OS.
>  >
>  > So,  what part of a typical Linux distribution
>  > would people call the Linux OS?   Here too,
>  > it's not the endless little editors and the myriad
>  > of GNU tools.
>  >
>  > Just for fun,  what does "Linux" mean
>  > to people here?  An analog to the question
>  > is "what is the Internet?"  Many people
>  > would probably confuse that with their
>  > browser.
>  >
>  >       -Bob
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-- 
:wq