109 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
109 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
[Source](http://article.olduse.net/771@mit-eddie.UUCP "Permalink to ")
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[Find][1]
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Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCPPosting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mit-eddie.UUCPPath: utzoo!linus!security!genrad!mit-eddie!RMS@MIT-OZFrom: RMS@MIT-OZ@mit-eddie.UUCP (Richard Stallman)
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Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards,net.usoft
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Subject: new UNIX implementation
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Message-ID: <[771@mit-eddie.UUCP][2]>
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Date: Tue, 27-Sep-83 13:35:59 EDT
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Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.771Posted: Tue Sep 27 13:35:59 1983Date-Received: Thu, 29-Sep-83 07:38:11 EDTOrganization: MIT AI Lab, Cambridge, MA
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Lines: 90Xref: dummy dummy:1X-OldUsenet-Modified: added Xref
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Free Unix!
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Starting this Thanksgiving I am going to write a complete
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Unix-compatible software system called GNU (for Gnu's Not Unix), and
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give it away free to everyone who can use it. Contributions of time,
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money, programs and equipment are greatly needed.
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To begin with, GNU will be a kernel plus all the utilities needed to
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write and run C programs: editor, shell, C compiler, linker,
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assembler, and a few other things. After this we will add a text
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formatter, a YACC, an Empire game, a spreadsheet, and hundreds of
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other things. We hope to supply, eventually, everything useful that
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normally comes with a Unix system, and anything else useful, including
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on-line and hardcopy documentation.
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GNU will be able to run Unix programs, but will not be identical
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to Unix. We will make all improvements that are convenient, based
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on our experience with other operating systems. In particular,
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we plan to have longer filenames, file version numbers, a crashproof
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file system, filename completion perhaps, terminal-independent
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display support, and eventually a Lisp-based window system through
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which several Lisp programs and ordinary Unix programs can share a screen.
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Both C and Lisp will be available as system programming languages.
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We will have network software based on MIT's chaosnet protocol,
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far superior to UUCP. We may also have something compatible
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with UUCP.
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Who Am I?
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I am Richard Stallman, inventor of the original much-imitated EMACS
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editor, now at the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. I have worked
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extensively on compilers, editors, debuggers, command interpreters, the
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Incompatible Timesharing System and the Lisp Machine operating system.
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I pioneered terminal-independent display support in ITS. In addition I
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have implemented one crashproof file system and two window systems for
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Lisp machines.
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Why I Must Write GNU
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I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I
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must share it with other people who like it. I cannot in good
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conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software license
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agreement.
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So that I can continue to use computers without violating my principles,
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I have decided to put together a sufficient body of free software so that
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I will be able to get along without any software that is not free.
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How You Can Contribute
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I am asking computer manufacturers for donations of machines and money.
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I'm asking individuals for donations of programs and work.
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One computer manufacturer has already offered to provide a machine. But
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we could use more. One consequence you can expect if you donate
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machines is that GNU will run on them at an early date. The machine had
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better be able to operate in a residential area, and not require
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sophisticated cooling or power.
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Individual programmers can contribute by writing a compatible duplicate
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of some Unix utility and giving it to me. For most projects, such
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part-time distributed work would be very hard to coordinate; the
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independently-written parts would not work together. But for the
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particular task of replacing Unix, this problem is absent. Most
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interface specifications are fixed by Unix compatibility. If each
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contribution works with the rest of Unix, it will probably work
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with the rest of GNU.
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If I get donations of money, I may be able to hire a few people full or
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part time. The salary won't be high, but I'm looking for people for
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whom knowing they are helping humanity is as important as money. I view
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this as a way of enabling dedicated people to devote their full energies to
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working on GNU by sparing them the need to make a living in another way.
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For more information, contact me.
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Arpanet mail:
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RMS@MIT-MC.ARPA
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Usenet:
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...!mit-eddie!RMS@OZ
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...!mit-vax!RMS@OZ
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US Snail:
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Richard Stallman
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166 Prospect St
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Cambridge, MA 02139
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[1]: http://article.olduse.net/
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[2]: http://article.olduse.net/771%40mit-eddie.UUCP
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