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GNU facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

GNU is the name of a computer operating system. The name is short for GNU's Not Unix. Richard Stallman leads the project working on GNU, known as the GNU Project. It was created to replace the UNIX operating system with all free and open source software. The popular Linux operating systems made using Linux kernel include a large number of GNU tools. Due to this reason, many projects and developers call the Linux based operating systems GNU/Linux.

The GNU project was started by Richard Stallman in 1983. His aim was to create a computer system fully free to modify, share and publish modified work. He and a group of developers started with creating copies, of each piece of Unix software, which are free to modify and share. The remaining part of GNU was the kernel, called the GNU Hurd, which is not yet completely built. The more popular Linux kernel is used instead. Linux vs. Unix or BIOS

Images for kids

  • Richard Stallman - Fête de l'Humanité 2014 - 010

    Richard Stallman, founder of the GNU project

  • Parabola12

    Parabola GNU/Linux-libre, an example of an FSF approved distribution that uses a rolling release model

  • GNewSense screenshot

    gNewSense, an example of an FSF approved distribution

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: GNU para niños

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