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Birth and development
The GNU project
In 1984, Richard M. Stallman, a researcher of the MIT, have started the GNU project. He wanted nobody to have to pay for software. He compares the software development to a scientific process. He believes that the source code of a software is a sort of knowledge which must be known by everybody. According to him, the diffusion of the source code is the best way to have innovation and progress in computer-science.
In 1985, Stallman created the FSF (Free Software Foundation) in order to manage the GNU project, which has a logo of a gnu. One of the goal of the GNU project was to create an operating system which can be a platform to launch free software. This operating system now has a name : GNU/Linux.
The development of Linux
A software, whose source code is available, is called an Open Source software. The source code is shared so that many developpers can bring their ideas to improve a software and to make it more robust. In 1991, when Linus Torvalds have started to develop the Linux kernel, he diffused his work on the Internet. Many hackers were interested and tried to add functionalities and to debug. A lot of hackers have worked on the Linux kernel and have brought their competences and their experience. That explains why Linux is robust, powerful and stable.
Author : Julien L.
Last update : June 2005