Why Linux is portrayed as a Penguin?
this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2023
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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The distinction is between talking about Linux distributions and the Linux kernel. By far the most common understanding that saying just “Linux” refers to a Linux distribution or to the ecosystem of distributions collectively. When people want to talk just about the kernel they say so—they say Linux kernel.
The kind of people that want to claim Android is a Linux because it uses the Linux kernel or not going to be convinced by the GNU / Linux argument. They are going the other direction by wanting to over-emphasize the Linux label.
When I talk about Linux, it means the collections of operating systems that run the same universe of software and file systems: X, Wayland, Pipewire, Mesa, Proton, Docker, Kubernetes, Ext4, Btrfs, GNOME, KDE, POSIX, and all the applications that run on top of those. Not even closely related systems like FreeBSD run that same set of software because “Linux” systems are distinct. The term is a meaningful, accurate, and useful descriptor of a complex software ecosystem.
Does GNU / Linux identify the same ecosystem as above? No. Alpine Linux is one of the most common Linux distros used with Docker and Kubernetes. Alpine is a full and proper Linux by my definition. It cannot be properly described as GNU / Linux because it does not use the GNU C library or Core Utils. Void Linux, and increasingly popular distro, is similar. Chimera Linux, a new but really interesting distro is certainly a Linux. Tens of thousands of applications that we would expect to work on Linux will work on it including the deeply Linux specific stuff like Podman. However Chimera Linux does not leverage or depend on GNU software at all. It is Linux but most certainly not GNU / Linux.
Please talk more about Free Software ( if that is what you want to support ) or Open Source ( if you are about the software more than “user freedom” ). Linux is Free Software and the popularity of Linux and the massive universe of software and hardware support it enjoys are a huge achievement. Celebrate that achievement but stop trying to stamp the GNU brand on it. The GNU Project represents a tiny fraction of the universe of Free Software and of the Linux ecosystem. For most people, the term GNU / Linux is confusing, off-putting, and inaccurate. If we want the success of Free Software and the Linux ecosystem to continue, then continuing to promote the values and benefits of “Linux” will help. Promoting the term GNU / Linux is putting the ego of the GNU Project ( and its founder ) above the success of the software. Is that what we want?