ugleung@cs.Buffalo.EDU (Leung Lee) (06/25/89)
I have one fundamental question. What is the story concerning the frequent use of "GNU" as a prefix to many Unix programs, such a emacs, troff, etc. I realized this probably has its origin in the American culture! Is this correct! Can anyone give some kind of historical insights? Thanks Leung
bts@sas.UUCP (Brian T. Schellenberger) (06/29/89)
In article <7362@cs.Buffalo.EDU> ugleung@cs.Buffalo.EDU (Leung Lee) writes: |I have one fundamental question. What is the story concerning the |frequent use of "GNU" as a prefix to many Unix programs, such a emacs, |troff, etc. I realized this probably has its origin in the American |culture! Is this correct! Can anyone give some kind of historical |insights? | | |Thanks |Leung This is not correct. No Unix programs start with "GNU." In fact, GNU stands for "Gnu is Not Unix." It is the name for the Free Software Foundations Unix-replacement project: The idea is to re-write a Unix-like operating system so that people won't have to pay royalties to AT&T (or anybody else) to get the benifits of Unix. It's based on Richard Stallman's theory that software should be free. (A theses which is defensible using classical economics, incidentally, since the marginal cost of a new copy is zero--or vanishing small, at any rate.) Why GNU rather than, say, TNU (This is Not Unix) or something? I don't know. But I'd speculate that it's because: 1. Gnu is a real, live, English word. 2. It is pronounced "new," which is what this is: a new approach to software operating systems. This should move to comp.misc, though, not comp.text. I've set the followup-to field there . . . -- -- Brian, the Man from Babble-on. ...!mcnc!rti!sas!bts -- "Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of" -- THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
tower@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Leonard H. Tower Jr.) (07/16/89)
In article <7362@cs.Buffalo.EDU> ugleung@cs.Buffalo.EDU (Leung Lee) writes: |I have one fundamental question. What is the story concerning the |frequent use of "GNU" as a prefix to many Unix programs, such a emacs, |troff, etc. I realized this probably has its origin in the American |culture! Is this correct! Can anyone give some kind of historical |insights? | | |Thanks |Leung General questions about the GNU Project can be asked of: gnu@prep.ai.mit.edu enjoy -len