Re: OT Naming. was: Re: Why is Nvidia given GPL'd code to use in closed source drivers?

Hacksaw
2003-01-08T11:15:00Z

>The "GNU/Linux" vs "Linux" argument is a political one, not a practical
>one, don't try to disguise it.

I used to agree with this, and as far as politics, I do. However, a practical
reason to call it GNU/Linux just occurred to me: the ABI.

Linux is a kernel. It runs on a variety of platforms. You certainly must
differentiate between a program for Linux on StrongARM and one for Linux on
x86. To use a kernel one makes calls into it via a system call mechanism. In
the case of the vast majority of Linux installations, that is done via glibc.
Not for kicks is that 'g' there.

A system with a linux kernel using a different API will likely have a
different ABI for it's programs.

This will need to be accounted for at some point. Forget all the tools for the
moment, and just think about what makes the program ABI.

Is there any vendor out there now who's shipping something other than glibc
with their Linux distribution? I bet there is someone, probably in the
embedded market.

Of course, I bow to human nature. People will continue to make references to
Linux meaning the OS, and never mention the qualifiers, until it becomes an
issue.

Here's to looking forward to the day when it does. :-)

--
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