30 years of the GNU project

September 27, 1983, Richard Stallman published the initial announcement of the launch of the project to create a completely free GNU operating system (GNU's Not UNIX). Since then, exactly 30 years have passed, the GNU project has merged with Linux, and the GNU / Linux operating system is triumphantly striding the planet, developing successfully.

For more information on the relationship between the GNU operating system and the Linux kernel, see here .

Here is the text of the original post by Richard Stallman, translated into Russian.

From CSvax: pur-ee: inuxc! Ixn5c! Ihnp4! Houxm! Mhuxi! Eagle! Mit-vax! Mit-eddie! RMS @ MIT-OZ
From: RMS% MIT-OZ @ mit-eddie
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards , net.usoft
Subject: new Unix implementation
Date: Tue, 27-Sep-83 12:35:59 EST
Organization: MIT AI Lab, Cambridge, MA

Unix Freedom!

Starting next coming Thanksgiving, I'm going to write a complete Unix-compatible software system called GNU, which means “Gnu's Not Unix” (GNU is not Unix), and release it free for anyone who can use it. I really need help in the form of working time, money, programs and equipment.

For starters, GNU will be the core plus all the utilities needed to write and run C programs: an editor, a shell, a C compiler, a link editor, assembler, and more. After that, we will add a text formatting program, YACC, the game "Empire", a table processor and hundreds of other things. We hope to give out - over time - all that is useful that usually comes with a Unix family system, and everything else that is useful, including documentation in electronic form and on paper.

GNU will be able to run Unix programs, but will not be identical to Unix. We will make all the improvements that are only appropriate, based on our experience with other operating systems. In particular, we plan to introduce longer file names, file version numbers, a fault-tolerant file system, support for terminal-independent displays, possibly the completion of file names, and eventually a window system based on Lisp, in which several Lisp and regular Unix programs can share one screen. Both C and Lisp will be available as system programming languages. We will have networking programs based on chaosnet - the protocol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which significantly exceeds the UUCP protocol. Maybe we will also have something compatible with UUCP.

Who am i?

I am Richard Stallman, inventor of the original EMACS editor, who imitated a lot; I work at the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I have extensive experience working on compilers, editors, debuggers, shells, an Incompatible time sharing system (NSRV), and an operating system on a Lisp machine. I first introduced support for terminal-independent displays on the NDS. In addition, I implemented a crash-tolerant file system and two window systems for Lisp machines.

Why should I write GNU

I take into account that the golden rule requires that if I like the program, I must exchange it with other people who like it. I cannot, without shame, sign a program license agreement or non-disclosure agreement.

So that I could continue to use computers without violating my principles, I decided to put together a fair amount of free software so that I could do without any proprietary software.

How can you help

I urge computer manufacturers to donate cars and money. I encourage individuals to donate programs and work.

One computer manufacturer has already proposed to put one machine. But we could use more. One of the consequences you can expect from donating machines is that GNU will make money on them in a short time. Best of all, if the machine was able to work in residential premises and did not require ingenious cooling and power.

Some programmers can help by writing a compatible replacement for one of the Unix utilities and passing it to me. For most projects, such distributed concurrent work would be very difficult to coordinate; independently written parts would not work together. But specifically for the Unix replacement task, there is no such problem. Most interoperability specifications are determined by Unix compatibility. If each contribution works with the rest of Unix, it will probably work with the rest of GNU.

If I receive cash donations, I probably can hire a few people full or part time. Earnings will not be high, but I am looking for those for whom the consciousness that they help humanity is as important as money. I see this as a way to give dedicated people the opportunity to devote all their strength to working on GNU, relieving them of the need to earn a living in another way.

For more information contact me.

Arpanet Address:
[email protected]

Usenet Address:
...! Mit-eddie! RMS @ OZ
...! Mit-vax! RMS @ OZ

US Postal Address:
Richard Stallman
166 Prospect St
Cambridge, MA 02139

Today , celebrations of the GNU anniversary are held in many countries around the world . If you live in Cambridge , Prague, Berlin, Tokyo, Sofia, Ankara or Chisinau, you can take part in the celebration.