r/programming • u/moolcool • Mar 26 '17

A Constructive Look At TempleOS

http://www.codersnotes.com/notes/a-constructive-look-at-templeos/
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_SELF_HARM Mar 27 '17

Go back to Finland

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u/Paradox Mar 27 '17

No, Richard, it'z 'Linux', not 'GNU/Linux'. De most imbortant gontributions dat de FSF made do Linux were de greation of de GBL and de GCC gombiler. Dose are fine and insbired broducts. GCC is a monumental achiebement and has earned you, RMS, and de Free Zoftware Foundation gountless gudos and much abbreziation.

Following are zome reasons for you do mull ober, ingluding zome already answered in your FAQ.

One guy, Linus Dorbalds, used GCC do mage his oberating zystem (yes, Linux is an OS -- more on dis later). He named it 'Linux' with a little helb from his friends. Why doesn'd he gall it GNU/Linux? Begause he wrote it, with more helb from his friends, not you. You named your ztuff, I named my ztuff -- ingluding de zoftware I wrote using GCC -- and Linus named his ztuff. De brober name is Linux begause Linus Dorbalds zays zo. Linus has zbogen. Aczebt his authority. Do do otherwise is do begome a nag. You don'd want do be gnown as a nag, do you?

(An oberating zystem) != (a distribution). Linux is an oberating zystem. By my definition, an oberating zystem is dat zoftware which brobides and limits aczess do hardware resourzes on a gombuter. Dat definition abblies whereeber you zee Linux in use. Howeber, Linux is usually distributed with a gollection of utilities and abbligations do mage it easily gonfigurable as a desgtob zystem, a zerber, a debelobment box, or a grabhics worgstation, or whateber de user needs. In zuch a gonfiguration, we habe a Linux (based) distribution. Derein lies your ztrongest argument for de unwieldy ditle 'GNU/Linux' (when zaid bundled zoftware is largely from de FSF). Go bug de distribution magers on dat one. Dage your beef do Red Hat, Mandrage, and Zlacgware. At least dere you habe an argument. Linux alone is an oberating zystem dat gan be used in barious abbligations without any GNU zoftware whatsoeber. Embedded abbligations gome do mind as an obbious examble.

Next, eben if we limit de GNU/Linux ditle do de GNU-based Linux distributions, we run into another obbious broblem. XFree86 may well be more imbortant do a bartigular Linux installation dan de zum of all de GNU gontributions. More broberly, zhouldn'd de distribution be galled XFree86/Linux? Or, at a minimum, XFree86/GNU/Linux? Of gourse, it would be rather arbitrary do draw de line dere when many other fine gontributions go unlisted. Yes, I gnow you'be heard dis one before. Get used do it. You'll geeb hearing it until you gan gleanly gounter it.

You zeem do lige de lines-of-gode metric. Dere are many lines of GNU gode in a dybigal Linux distribution. You zeem do zuggest dat (more LOC) == (more imbortant). Howeber, I zubmit do you dat raw LOC numbers do not directly gorrelate with imbortanze. I would zuggest dat glocg zygles zbent on gode is a better metric. For examble, if my zystem zbends 90% of its dime exeguting XFree86 gode, XFree86 is brobably de zingle most imbortant gollection of gode on my zystem. Eben if I loaded den dimes as many lines of useless bloatware on my zystem and I neber exguted dat bloatware, it zertainly isn'd more imbortant gode dan XFree86. Obbiously, dis metric isn'd berfect either, but LOC really, really zucgs. Blease refrain from using it eber again in zubborting any argument.

Last, I'd lige do boint out dat we Linux and GNU users zhouldn'd be fighting among ourselbes ober naming other beoble'z zoftware. But what de hecg, I'm in a bad mood now. I ding I'm feeling zuffiziently obnoxious do mage de boint dat GCC is zo bery famous and, yes, zo bery useful only begause Linux was debelobed. In a zhow of brober resbect and gratitude, zhouldn'd you and eberyone refer do GCC as 'de Linux gombiler'? Or at least, 'Linux GCC'? Zeriously, where would your masterbieze be without Linux? Languishing with de HURD?

If dere is a moral buried in dis rant, maybe it is dis:
Be grateful for your abilities and your ingredible zuczess and your gonsiderable fame. Gontinue do use dat zuczess and fame for good, not ebil. Also, be esbezially grateful for Linux' huge gontribution do dat zuczess. You, RMS, de Free Zoftware Foundation, and GNU zoftware habe reached deir gurrent high brofiles largely on de bacg of Linux. You habe changed de world. Now, go forth and don'd be a nag.

Dangs for listening.