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www/gnu thegnuproject.html
|
From: |
Yavor Doganov |
|
Subject: |
www/gnu thegnuproject.html |
|
Date: |
Wed, 07 Mar 2007 05:40:26 +0000 |
CVSROOT: /web/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Yavor Doganov <yavor> 07/03/07 05:40:26
Modified files:
gnu : thegnuproject.html
Log message:
* Updated to use the template.
* Added a link to the Japanese translation.
* Added missing years in the copyright notice.
* Put Red Hat "Linux" in quotes (approved by rms).
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/gnu/thegnuproject.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.27&r2=1.28
Patches:
Index: thegnuproject.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/gnu/thegnuproject.html,v
retrieving revision 1.27
retrieving revision 1.28
diff -u -b -r1.27 -r1.28
--- thegnuproject.html 19 Feb 2007 16:47:44 -0000 1.27
+++ thegnuproject.html 7 Mar 2007 05:40:16 -0000 1.28
@@ -1,84 +1,75 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
-<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
- "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd";>
-<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"; xml:lang="en">
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
-<head>
<title>About the GNU Project - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation
(FSF)</title>
-<meta http-equiv="content-type" content='text/html; charset=utf-8' />
-<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/gnu.css" />
-<link rev="made" href="address@hidden" />
+
<meta http-equiv="Keywords" content="GNU, GNU Project, FSF, Free Software,
Free Software Foundation, History" />
-</head>
-<!-- This document is in XML, and xhtml 1.0 -->
-<!-- Please make sure to properly nest your tags -->
-<!-- and ensure that your final document validates -->
-<!-- consistent with W3C xhtml 1.0 and CSS standards -->
-<!-- See validator.w3.org -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
-<body>
+<h2>The GNU Project</h2>
+<!-- This document uses XHTML 1.0 Strict, but may be served as -->
+<!-- text/html. Please ensure that markup style considers -->
+<!-- appendex C of the XHTML 1.0 standard. See validator.w3.org. -->
+<!-- Please ensure links are consistent with Apache's MultiView. -->
+<!-- Change include statements to be consistent with the relevant -->
+<!-- language, where necessary. -->
-<h3>The GNU Project</h3>
<p>
by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/";><strong>Richard Stallman</strong></a></p>
<p>
-originally published in the book "Open Sources"</p>
-<p>
-<a href="/graphics/whatsgnu.html"><img src="/graphics/whats-gnu-sm.jpg"
- alt=" [image of What's GNU] "
- width="125" height="120" /></a>
-</p>
-
-<p><a href="#translations">Translations</a> of this page</p>
+originally published in the book “Open Sources”</p>
-<hr />
<h3>The first software-sharing community</h3>
<p>
-When I started working at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab in 1971,
-I became part of a software-sharing community that had existed for
-many years. Sharing of software was not limited to our particular
-community; it is as old as computers, just as sharing of recipes is
-as old as cooking. But we did it more than most.</p>
+When I started working at the <abbr title="Massachusetts Institute of
+Technology">MIT</abbr> Artificial Intelligence Lab in 1971, I became
+part of a software-sharing community that had existed for many years.
+Sharing of software was not limited to our particular community; it is
+as old as computers, just as sharing of recipes is as old as cooking.
+But we did it more than most.</p>
<p>
-The AI Lab used a timesharing operating system called ITS (the
+The AI Lab used a timesharing operating system called
+<abbr title="Incompatible Timesharing System">ITS</abbr> (the
Incompatible Timesharing System) that the lab's staff hackers (1) had
-designed and written in assembler language for the Digital PDP-10, one
-of the large computers of the era. As a member of this community, an
-AI lab staff system hacker, my job was to improve this system.</p>
-<p>
-We did not call our software "free software", because that term did
-not yet exist; but that is what it was. Whenever people from another
-university or a company wanted to port and use a program, we gladly
-let them. If you saw someone using an unfamiliar and interesting
-program, you could always ask to see the source code, so that you
-could read it, change it, or cannibalize parts of it to make a new
-program.</p>
-<p>
-(1) The use of "hacker" to mean "security breaker" is a confusion on
-the part of the mass media. We hackers refuse to recognize that
-meaning, and continue using the word to mean, "Someone who loves to
-program and enjoys being clever about it."</p>
+designed and written in assembler language for the Digital
+<abbr title="Programmed Data Processor">PDP</abbr>-10, one of the
+large computers of the era. As a member of this community, an AI lab
+staff system hacker, my job was to improve this system.</p>
+<p>
+We did not call our software “free software”, because that
+term did not yet exist; but that is what it was. Whenever people from
+another university or a company wanted to port and use a program, we
+gladly let them. If you saw someone using an unfamiliar and
+interesting program, you could always ask to see the source code, so
+that you could read it, change it, or cannibalize parts of it to make
+a new program.</p>
+<p>
+(1) The use of “hacker” to mean “security
+breaker” is a confusion on the part of the mass media. We
+hackers refuse to recognize that meaning, and continue using the word
+to mean, “Someone who loves to program and enjoys being clever
+about it.”</p>
<h3>The collapse of the community</h3>
<p>
The situation changed drastically in the early 1980s when Digital
-discontinued the PDP-10 series. Its architecture, elegant and
-powerful in the 60s, could not extend naturally to the larger address
-spaces that were becoming feasible in the 80s. This meant that nearly
-all of the programs composing ITS were obsolete.</p>
+discontinued the <abbr>PDP</abbr>-10 series. Its architecture,
+elegant and powerful in the 60s, could not extend naturally to the
+larger address spaces that were becoming feasible in the 80s. This
+meant that nearly all of the programs composing <abbr>ITS</abbr> were
+obsolete.</p>
<p>
The AI lab hacker community had already collapsed, not long before.
In 1981, the spin-off company Symbolics had hired away nearly all of
the hackers from the AI lab, and the depopulated community was unable
to maintain itself. (The book Hackers, by Steve Levy, describes these
events, as well as giving a clear picture of this community in its
-prime.) When the AI lab bought a new PDP-10 in 1982, its
+prime.) When the AI lab bought a new <abbr>PDP</abbr>-10 in 1982, its
administrators decided to use Digital's non-free timesharing system
-instead of ITS.</p>
+instead of <abbr>ITS</abbr>.</p>
<p>
The modern computers of the era, such as the VAX or the 68020, had
their own operating systems, but none of them were free software: you
@@ -86,25 +77,25 @@
<p>
This meant that the first step in using a computer was to promise not
to help your neighbor. A cooperating community was forbidden. The
-rule made by the owners of proprietary software was, "If you share
-with your neighbor, you are a pirate. If you want any changes, beg us
-to make them."</p>
+rule made by the owners of proprietary software was, “If you
+share with your neighbor, you are a pirate. If you want any changes,
+beg us to make them.”</p>
<p>
The idea that the proprietary-software social system--the system that
says you are not allowed to share or change software--is antisocial,
that it is unethical, that it is simply wrong, may come as a surprise
to some readers. But what else could we say about a system based on
dividing the public and keeping users helpless? Readers who find the
-idea surprising may have taken proprietary-software social system as given, or
-judged it on the terms suggested by proprietary software businesses.
-Software publishers have worked long and hard to convince people that
-there is only one way to look at the issue.</p>
-<p>
-When software publishers talk about "enforcing" their "rights" or
-"stopping piracy", what they actually *say* is secondary. The real
-message of these statements is in the unstated assumptions they take
-for granted; the public is supposed to accept them uncritically. So
-let's examine them.</p>
+idea surprising may have taken proprietary-software social system as
+given, or judged it on the terms suggested by proprietary software
+businesses. Software publishers have worked long and hard to convince
+people that there is only one way to look at the issue.</p>
+<p>
+When software publishers talk about “enforcing” their
+“rights” or “stopping piracy”, what they
+actually *say* is secondary. The real message of these statements is
+in the unstated assumptions they take for granted; the public is
+supposed to accept them uncritically. So let's examine them.</p>
<p>
One assumption is that software companies have an unquestionable natural
right to own software and thus have power over all its users. (If
@@ -153,13 +144,13 @@
making the world a worse place.</p>
<p>
I had already experienced being on the receiving end of a
-nondisclosure agreement, when someone refused to give me and the MIT
-AI lab the source code for the control program for our printer. (The
-lack of certain features in this program made use of the printer
-extremely frustrating.) So I could not tell myself that nondisclosure
-agreements were innocent. I was very angry when he refused to share
-with us; I could not turn around and do the same thing to everyone
-else.</p>
+nondisclosure agreement, when someone refused to give me and
+the <abbr>MIT</abbr> AI lab the source code for the control program
+for our printer. (The lack of certain features in this program made
+use of the printer extremely frustrating.) So I could not tell myself
+that nondisclosure agreements were innocent. I was very angry when he
+refused to share with us; I could not turn around and do the same
+thing to everyone else.</p>
<p>
Another choice, straightforward but unpleasant, was to leave the
computer field. That way my skills would not be misused, but they
@@ -183,14 +174,14 @@
was elected to do the job. I chose to make the system compatible with
Unix so that it would be portable, and so that Unix users could easily
switch to it. The name GNU was chosen following a hacker tradition, as
-a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix."</p>
+a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not Unix.”</p>
<p>
An operating system does not mean just a kernel, barely enough to run
other programs. In the 1970s, every operating system worthy of the
name included command processors, assemblers, compilers, interpreters,
-debuggers, text editors, mailers, and much more. ITS had them,
-Multics had them, VMS had them, and Unix had them. The GNU operating
-system would include them too.</p>
+debuggers, text editors, mailers, and much more. <abbr>ITS</abbr> had
+them, Multics had them, VMS had them, and Unix had them. The GNU
+operating system would include them too.</p>
<p>
Later I heard these words, attributed to Hillel (1):</p>
@@ -207,10 +198,10 @@
<h3>Free as in freedom</h3>
<p>
-The term "free software" is sometimes misunderstood--it has nothing to
-do with price. It is about freedom. Here, therefore, is the
-definition of free software: a program is free software, for you, a
-particular user, if:</p>
+The term “free software” is sometimes misunderstood--it
+has nothing to do with price. It is about freedom. Here, therefore,
+is the definition of free software: a program is free software, for
+you, a particular user, if:</p>
<ul>
<li>You have the freedom to run the program, for any purpose.</li>
@@ -226,7 +217,7 @@
so that the community can benefit from your improvements.</li>
</ul>
<p>
-Since "free" refers to freedom, not to price, there is no
+Since “free” refers to freedom, not to price, there is no
contradiction between selling copies and free software. In fact, the
freedom to sell copies is crucial: collections of free software sold
on CD-ROMs are important for the community, and selling them is an
@@ -234,13 +225,14 @@
Therefore, a program which people are not free to include on these
collections is not free software.</p>
<p>
-Because of the ambiguity of "free", people have long looked for
-alternatives, but no one has found a suitable alternative. The
-English Language has more words and nuances than any other, but it
-lacks a simple, unambiguous, word that means "free", as in
-freedom--"unfettered" being the word that comes closest in meaning.
-Such alternatives as "liberated", "freedom", and "open" have either the
-wrong meaning or some other disadvantage.</p>
+Because of the ambiguity of “free”, people have long
+looked for alternatives, but no one has found a suitable alternative.
+The English Language has more words and nuances than any other, but it
+lacks a simple, unambiguous, word that means “free”, as in
+freedom--“unfettered” being the word that comes closest in
+meaning. Such alternatives as “liberated”,
+“freedom”, and “open” have either the wrong
+meaning or some other disadvantage.</p>
<h3>GNU software and the GNU system</h3>
<p>
@@ -260,25 +252,27 @@
<h3>Commencing the project</h3>
<p>
-In January 1984 I quit my job at MIT and began writing GNU software.
-Leaving MIT was necessary so that MIT would not be able to interfere
-with distributing GNU as free software. If I had remained on the
-staff, MIT could have claimed to own the work, and could have imposed
-their own distribution terms, or even turned the work into a
-proprietary software package. I had no intention of doing a large
-amount of work only to see it become useless for its intended purpose:
-creating a new software-sharing community.</p>
+In January 1984 I quit my job at <abbr>MIT</abbr> and began writing
+GNU software. Leaving <abbr>MIT</abbr> was necessary so
+that <abbr>MIT</abbr> would not be able to interfere with distributing
+GNU as free software. If I had remained on the
+staff, <abbr>MIT</abbr> could have claimed to own the work, and could
+have imposed their own distribution terms, or even turned the work
+into a proprietary software package. I had no intention of doing a
+large amount of work only to see it become useless for its intended
+purpose: creating a new software-sharing community.</p>
<p>
-However, Professor Winston, then the head of the MIT AI Lab, kindly
-invited me to keep using the lab's facilities.</p>
+However, Professor Winston, then the head of the <abbr>MIT</abbr> AI
+Lab, kindly invited me to keep using the lab's facilities.</p>
<h3>The first steps</h3>
<p>
Shortly before beginning the GNU project, I heard about the Free
University Compiler Kit, also known as VUCK. (The Dutch word for
-"free" is written with a V.) This was a compiler designed to handle
-multiple languages, including C and Pascal, and to support multiple
-target machines. I wrote to its author asking if GNU could use it.</p>
+“free” is written with a V.) This was a compiler designed
+to handle multiple languages, including C and Pascal, and to support
+multiple target machines. I wrote to its author asking if GNU could
+use it.</p>
<p>
He responded derisively, stating that the university was free but the
compiler was not. I therefore decided that my first program for the
@@ -295,12 +289,13 @@
<p>
I then realized that the Pastel compiler functioned by parsing the
entire input file into a syntax tree, converting the whole syntax tree
-into a chain of "instructions", and then generating the whole output
-file, without ever freeing any storage. At this point, I concluded I
-would have to write a new compiler from scratch. That new compiler is
-now known as GCC; none of the Pastel compiler is used in it, but I
-managed to adapt and use the C front end that I had written. But that
-was some years later; first, I worked on GNU Emacs.</p>
+into a chain of “instructions”, and then generating the
+whole output file, without ever freeing any storage. At this point, I
+concluded I would have to write a new compiler from scratch. That new
+compiler is now known as <acronym title="GNU Compiler
+Collection">GCC</acronym>; none of the Pastel compiler is used in it,
+but I managed to adapt and use the C front end that I had written.
+But that was some years later; first, I worked on GNU Emacs.</p>
<h3>GNU Emacs</h3>
<p>
@@ -318,14 +313,16 @@
people were not on the Internet and could not get a copy by ftp. So
the question was, what would I say to them?</p>
<p>
-I could have said, "Find a friend who is on the net and who will make
-a copy for you." Or I could have done what I did with the original
-PDP-10 Emacs: tell them, "Mail me a tape and a SASE, and I will mail
-it back with Emacs on it." But I had no job, and I was looking for
-ways to make money from free software. So I announced that I would
-mail a tape to whoever wanted one, for a fee of $150. In this way, I
-started a free software distribution business, the precursor of the
-companies that today distribute entire Linux-based GNU systems.</p>
+I could have said, “Find a friend who is on the net and who will make
+a copy for you.” Or I could have done what I did with the original
+<abbr>PDP</abbr>-10 Emacs: tell them, “Mail me a tape and a
+<abbr title="Self-addressed Stamped Envelope">SASE</abbr>, and I will
+mail it back with Emacs on it.” But I had no job, and I was
+looking for ways to make money from free software. So I announced
+that I would mail a tape to whoever wanted one, for a fee of $150. In
+this way, I started a free software distribution business, the
+precursor of the companies that today distribute entire Linux-based
+GNU systems.</p>
<h3>Is a program free for every user?</h3>
<p>
@@ -339,33 +336,33 @@
licenses which allow proprietary modified versions.</p>
<p>
The paradigmatic example of this problem is the X Window System.
-Developed at MIT, and released as free software with a permissive
-license, it was soon adopted by various computer companies. They
-added X to their proprietary Unix systems, in binary form only, and
-covered by the same nondisclosure agreement. These copies of X were
-no more free software than Unix was.</p>
+Developed at <abbr>MIT</abbr>, and released as free software with a
+permissive license, it was soon adopted by various computer companies.
+They added X to their proprietary Unix systems, in binary form only,
+and covered by the same nondisclosure agreement. These copies of X
+were no more free software than Unix was.</p>
<p>
The developers of the X Window System did not consider this a
problem--they expected and intended this to happen. Their goal was
-not freedom, just "success", defined as "having many users." They did
-not care whether these users had freedom, only that they should be
-numerous.</p>
+not freedom, just “success”, defined as “having many
+users.” They did not care whether these users had freedom, only
+that they should be numerous.</p>
<p>
This led to a paradoxical situation where two different ways of
counting the amount of freedom gave different answers to the question,
-"Is this program free?" If you judged based on the freedom provided
-by the distribution terms of the MIT release, you would say that X was
-free software. But if you measured the freedom of the average user of
-X, you would have to say it was proprietary software. Most X users
-were running the proprietary versions that came with Unix systems, not
-the free version.</p>
+“Is this program free?” If you judged based on the freedom
+provided by the distribution terms of the <abbr>MIT</abbr> release,
+you would say that X was free software. But if you measured the
+freedom of the average user of X, you would have to say it was
+proprietary software. Most X users were running the proprietary
+versions that came with Unix systems, not the free version.</p>
<h3>Copyleft and the GNU GPL</h3>
<p>
The goal of GNU was to give users freedom, not just to be popular. So
we needed to use distribution terms that would prevent GNU software
from being turned into proprietary software. The method we use is
-called "copyleft".(1)</p>
+called “copyleft”.(1)</p>
<p>
Copyleft uses copyright law, but flips it over to serve the opposite
of its usual purpose: instead of a means of privatizing software, it
@@ -374,15 +371,17 @@
The central idea of copyleft is that we give everyone permission to
run the program, copy the program, modify the program, and distribute
modified versions--but not permission to add restrictions of their
-own. Thus, the crucial freedoms that define "free software" are
-guaranteed to everyone who has a copy; they become inalienable rights.</p>
+own. Thus, the crucial freedoms that define “free
+software” are guaranteed to everyone who has a copy; they become
+inalienable rights.</p>
<p>
For an effective copyleft, modified versions must also be free. This
ensures that work based on ours becomes available to our community if
it is published. When programmers who have jobs as programmers
volunteer to improve GNU software, it is copyleft that prevents their
-employers from saying, "You can't share those changes, because we are
-going to use them to make our proprietary version of the program."</p>
+employers from saying, “You can't share those changes, because
+we are going to use them to make our proprietary version of the
+program.”</p>
<p>
The requirement that changes must be free is essential if we want to
ensure freedom for every user of the program. The companies that
@@ -410,46 +409,48 @@
<p>
(1) In 1984 or 1985, Don Hopkins (a very imaginative fellow) mailed me
a letter. On the envelope he had written several amusing sayings,
-including this one: "Copyleft--all rights reversed." I used the word
-"copyleft" to name the distribution concept I was developing at the
-time.</p>
+including this one: “Copyleft--all rights reversed.” I
+used the word “copyleft” to name the distribution concept
+I was developing at the time.</p>
<p>
-(2) We now use the <a href="/licenses/fdl.html"> GNU Free
-Documentation License </a> for documentation.</p>
+(2) We now use the <a href="/licenses/fdl.html">GNU Free
+Documentation License</a> for documentation.</p>
<h3>The Free Software Foundation</h3>
<p>
As interest in using Emacs was growing, other people became involved
in the GNU project, and we decided that it was time to seek funding
once again. So in 1985 we created the Free Software Foundation, a
-tax-exempt charity for free software development. The FSF also took
-over the Emacs tape distribution business; later it extended this by
-adding other free software (both GNU and non-GNU) to the tape, and by
-selling free manuals as well.</p>
-<p>
-The FSF accepts donations, but most of its income has always come from
-sales--of copies of free software, and of other related services.
-Today it sells CD-ROMs of source code, CD-ROMs with binaries, nicely
-printed manuals (all with freedom to redistribute and modify), and
-Deluxe Distributions (where we build the whole collection of software
-for your choice of platform).</p>
+tax-exempt charity for free software development. The
+<abbr title="Free Software Foundation">FSF</abbr> also took over the
+Emacs tape distribution business; later it extended this by adding
+other free software (both GNU and non-GNU) to the tape, and by selling
+free manuals as well.</p>
+<p>
+The <abbr>FSF</abbr> accepts donations, but most of its income has
+always come from sales--of copies of free software, and of other
+related services. Today it sells CD-ROMs of source code, CD-ROMs with
+binaries, nicely printed manuals (all with freedom to redistribute and
+modify), and Deluxe Distributions (where we build the whole collection
+of software for your choice of platform).</p>
<p>
Free Software Foundation employees have written and maintained a
number of GNU software packages. Two notable ones are the C library
and the shell. The GNU C library is what every program running on a
GNU/Linux system uses to communicate with Linux. It was developed by
a member of the Free Software Foundation staff, Roland McGrath. The
-shell used on most GNU/Linux systems is BASH, the Bourne Again
-Shell(1), which was developed by FSF employee Brian Fox.</p>
+shell used on most GNU/Linux systems is <acronym title="Bourne Again
+Shell">BASH</acronym>, the Bourne Again Shell(1), which was developed
+by <abbr>FSF</abbr> employee Brian Fox.</p>
<p>
We funded development of these programs because the GNU project was
not just about tools or a development environment. Our goal was a
complete operating system, and these programs were needed for that
goal.</p>
<p>
-(1) "Bourne Again Shell" is a play on the name ``Bourne Shell'', which
-was the usual shell on Unix.</p>
+(1) “Bourne Again Shell” is a play on the name
+“Bourne Shell”, which was the usual shell on Unix.</p>
<h3>Free software support</h3>
<p>
@@ -458,11 +459,12 @@
users' freedom, we wish them success.</p>
<p>
Selling copies of Emacs demonstrates one kind of free software
-business. When the FSF took over that business, I needed another way
-to make a living. I found it in selling services relating to the free
-software I had developed. This included teaching, for subjects such
-as how to program GNU Emacs and how to customize GCC, and software
-development, mostly porting GCC to new platforms.</p>
+business. When the <abbr>FSF</abbr> took over that business, I needed
+another way to make a living. I found it in selling services relating
+to the free software I had developed. This included teaching, for
+subjects such as how to program GNU Emacs and how to
+customize <acronym>GCC</acronym>, and software development, mostly
+porting <acronym>GCC</acronym> to new platforms.</p>
<p>
Today each of these kinds of free software business is practiced by a
number of corporations. Some distribute free software collections on
@@ -472,13 +474,13 @@
software products.</p>
<p>
Watch out, though--a number of companies that associate themselves
-with the term "open source" actually base their business on non-free
-software that works with free software. These are not free software
-companies, they are proprietary software companies whose products
-tempt users away from freedom. They call these "value added", which
-reflects the values they would like us to adopt: convenience above
-freedom. If we value freedom more, we should call them "freedom
-subtracted" products.</p>
+with the term “open source” actually base their business
+on non-free software that works with free software. These are not
+free software companies, they are proprietary software companies whose
+products tempt users away from freedom. They call these “value
+added”, which reflects the values they would like us to adopt:
+convenience above freedom. If we value freedom more, we should call
+them “freedom subtracted” products.</p>
<h3>Technical goals</h3>
<p>
@@ -536,9 +538,9 @@
<p>
Today, hardly any Unix components are left in the GNU task list--those
jobs have been done, aside from a few inessential ones. But the list
-is full of projects that some might call "applications". Any program
-that appeals to more than a narrow class of users would be a useful
-thing to add to an operating system.</p>
+is full of projects that some might call “applications”.
+Any program that appeals to more than a narrow class of users would be
+a useful thing to add to an operating system.</p>
<p>
Even games are included in the task list--and have been since the
beginning. Unix included games, so naturally GNU should too. But
@@ -581,11 +583,12 @@
software.</p>
<p>
Consider GNU Readline, a library that was developed to provide
-command-line editing for BASH. Readline is released under the
-ordinary GNU GPL, not the Library GPL. This probably does reduce the
-amount Readline is used, but that is no loss for us. Meanwhile, at
-least one useful application has been made free software specifically
-so it could use Readline, and that is a real gain for the community.</p>
+command-line editing for <acronym>BASH</acronym>. Readline is
+released under the ordinary GNU GPL, not the Library GPL. This
+probably does reduce the amount Readline is used, but that is no loss
+for us. Meanwhile, at least one useful application has been made free
+software specifically so it could use Readline, and that is a real
+gain for the community.</p>
<p>
Proprietary software developers have the advantages money provides;
free software developers need to make advantages for each other. I
@@ -601,23 +604,25 @@
<h3>Scratching an itch?</h3>
<p>
-Eric Raymond says that "Every good work of software starts by
-scratching a developer's personal itch." Maybe that happens
+Eric Raymond says that “Every good work of software starts by
+scratching a developer's personal itch.” Maybe that happens
sometimes, but many essential pieces of GNU software were developed in
order to have a complete free operating system. They come from a
vision and a plan, not from impulse.</p>
<p>
For example, we developed the GNU C library because a Unix-like system
-needs a C library, the Bourne-Again Shell (bash) because a Unix-like
-system needs a shell, and GNU tar because a Unix-like system needs a
-tar program. The same is true for my own programs--the GNU C
-compiler, GNU Emacs, GDB and GNU Make.</p>
+needs a C library, the Bourne-Again Shell (<acronym>bash</acronym>)
+because a Unix-like system needs a shell, and GNU tar because a
+Unix-like system needs a tar program. The same is true for my own
+programs--the GNU C compiler, GNU Emacs, GDB and GNU Make.</p>
<p>
Some GNU programs were developed to cope with specific threats to our
freedom. Thus, we developed gzip to replace the Compress program,
-which had been lost to the community because of the LZW patents. We
-found people to develop LessTif, and more recently started GNOME and
-Harmony, to address the problems caused by certain proprietary
+which had been lost to the community because of
+the <abbr title="Lempel-Ziv-Welch">LZW</abbr> patents. We found
+people to develop LessTif, and more recently started
+<acronym title="GNU Network Object Model Environment">GNOME</acronym>
+and Harmony, to address the problems caused by certain proprietary
libraries (see below). We are developing the GNU Privacy Guard to
replace popular non-free encryption software, because users should not
have to choose between privacy and freedom.</p>
@@ -652,10 +657,11 @@
component was the kernel. We had decided to implement our kernel as a
collection of server processes running on top of Mach. Mach is a
microkernel developed at Carnegie Mellon University and then at the
-University of Utah; the GNU HURD is a collection of servers (or ``herd
-of gnus'') that run on top of Mach, and do the various jobs of the
-Unix kernel. The start of development was delayed as we waited for
-Mach to be released as free software, as had been promised.</p>
+University of Utah; the GNU HURD is a collection of servers (or
+“herd of gnus”) that run on top of Mach, and do the
+various jobs of the Unix kernel. The start of development was delayed
+as we waited for Mach to be released as free software, as had been
+promised.</p>
<p>
One reason for choosing this design was to avoid what seemed to be the
hardest part of the job: debugging a kernel program without a
@@ -672,8 +678,9 @@
original name was Alix--named after the woman who was my sweetheart at
the time. She, a Unix system administrator, had pointed out how her
name would fit a common naming pattern for Unix system versions; as a
-joke, she told her friends, "Someone should name a kernel after me."
-I said nothing, but decided to surprise her with a kernel named Alix.</p>
+joke, she told her friends, “Someone should name a kernel after
+me.” I said nothing, but decided to surprise her with a kernel
+named Alix.</p>
<p>
It did not stay that way. Michael Bushnell (now Thomas), the main
developer of the kernel, preferred the name HURD, and redefined Alix
@@ -741,10 +748,10 @@
for free software developers. The library's attractive features are
the bait; if you use the library, you fall into the trap, because your
program cannot usefully be part of a free operating system. (Strictly
-speaking, we could include your program, but it won't <strong>run</strong>
with the
-library missing.) Even worse, if a program that uses the proprietary
-library becomes popular, it can lure other unsuspecting programmers
-into the trap.</p>
+speaking, we could include your program, but it
+won't <strong>run</strong> with the library missing.) Even worse, if
+a program that uses the proprietary library becomes popular, it can
+lure other unsuspecting programmers into the trap.</p>
<p>
The first instance of this problem was the Motif toolkit, back in the
80s. Although there were as yet no free operating systems, it was
@@ -755,32 +762,35 @@
took many years; LessTif, developed by the Hungry Programmers, became
powerful enough to support most Motif applications only in 1997.</p>
<p>
-Between 1996 and 1998, another non-free GUI toolkit library, called
-Qt, was used in a substantial collection of free software, the desktop
-KDE.</p>
-<p>
-Free GNU/Linux systems were unable to use KDE, because we could not
-use the library. However, some commercial distributors of GNU/Linux
-systems who were not strict about sticking with free software added
-KDE to their systems--producing a system with more capabilities, but
-less freedom. The KDE group was actively encouraging more programmers
-to use Qt, and millions of new "Linux users" had never been exposed to
-the idea that there was a problem in this. The situation appeared
-grim.</p>
+Between 1996 and 1998, another non-free <abbr title="Graphical User
+Interface">GUI</abbr> toolkit library, called Qt, was used in a
+substantial collection of free software, the desktop
+<acronym title="K Desktop Environment">KDE</acronym>.</p>
+<p>
+Free GNU/Linux systems were unable to use <acronym>KDE</acronym>,
+because we could not use the library. However, some commercial
+distributors of GNU/Linux systems who were not strict about sticking
+with free software added <acronym>KDE</acronym> to their
+systems--producing a system with more capabilities, but less freedom.
+The <acronym>KDE</acronym> group was actively encouraging more
+programmers to use Qt, and millions of new “Linux users”
+had never been exposed to the idea that there was a problem in this.
+The situation appeared grim.</p>
<p>
The free software community responded to the problem in two ways:
-GNOME and Harmony.</p>
+<acronym>GNOME</acronym> and Harmony.</p>
<p>
-GNOME, the GNU Network Object Model Environment, is GNU's desktop
-project. Started in 1997 by Miguel de Icaza, and developed with the
-support of Red Hat Software, GNOME set out to provide similar desktop
+<acronym>GNOME</acronym>, the GNU Network Object Model Environment, is
+GNU's desktop project. Started in 1997 by Miguel de Icaza, and
+developed with the support of Red Hat
+Software, <acronym>GNOME</acronym> set out to provide similar desktop
facilities, but using free software exclusively. It has technical
advantages as well, such as supporting a variety of languages, not
just C++. But its main purpose was freedom: not to require the use of
any non-free software.</p>
<p>
Harmony is a compatible replacement library, designed to make it
-possible to run KDE software without using Qt.</p>
+possible to run <acronym>KDE</acronym> software without using Qt.</p>
<p>
In November 1998, the developers of Qt announced a change of license
which, when carried out, should make Qt free software. There is no
@@ -801,10 +811,12 @@
<p>
The worst threat we face comes from software patents, which can put
algorithms and features off limits to free software for up to twenty
-years. The LZW compression algorithm patents were applied for in
-1983, and we still cannot release free software to produce proper
-compressed GIFs. In 1998, a free program to produce MP3 compressed
-audio was removed from distribution under threat of a patent suit.</p>
+years. The <abbr>LZW</abbr> compression algorithm patents were
+applied for in 1983, and we still cannot release free software to
+produce proper compressed <abbr title="Graphics Interchange
+Format">GIF</abbr>s. In 1998, a free program to produce
+<abbr title="MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3">MP3</abbr> compressed audio was
+removed from distribution under threat of a patent suit.</p>
<p>
There are ways to cope with patents: we can search for evidence that a
patent is invalid, and we can look for alternative ways to do a job.
@@ -817,13 +829,14 @@
patented features. But those who value free software because they
expect it to be technically superior are likely to call it a failure
when a patent holds it back. Thus, while it is useful to talk about
-the practical effectiveness of the "cathedral" model of development (1),
-and the reliability and power of some free software, we must not
-stop there. We must talk about freedom and principle.</p>
+the practical effectiveness of the “cathedral” model of
+development (1), and the reliability and power of some free software,
+we must not stop there. We must talk about freedom and principle.</p>
<p>
-(1) It would have been clearer to write `of the "bazaar" model', since
-that was the alternative that was new and initially controversial. </p>
+(1) It would have been clearer to write ‘of the
+“bazaar” model’, since that was the alternative that
+was new and initially controversial. </p>
<h3>Free documentation</h3>
<p>
@@ -878,9 +891,9 @@
<h3>We must talk about freedom</h3>
<p>
Estimates today are that there are ten million users of GNU/Linux
-systems such as Debian GNU/Linux and Red Hat Linux. Free software
-has developed such practical advantages that users are flocking to it
-for purely practical reasons.</p>
+systems such as Debian GNU/Linux and Red Hat “Linux”.
+Free software has developed such practical advantages that users are
+flocking to it for purely practical reasons.</p>
<p>
The good consequences of this are evident: more interest in developing
free software, more customers for free software businesses, and more
@@ -899,25 +912,28 @@
our community. We need to do both, and we need to keep the two
efforts in balance.</p>
-<h3>"Open Source"</h3>
+<h3>“Open Source”</h3>
<p>
Teaching new users about freedom became more difficult in 1998, when a
-part of the community decided to stop using the term "free software"
-and say "open source software" instead.</p>
-<p>
-Some who favored this term aimed to avoid the confusion of "free" with
-"gratis"--a valid goal. Others, however, aimed to set aside the
-spirit of principle that had motivated the free software movement and
-the GNU project, and to appeal instead to executives and business
-users, many of whom hold an ideology that places profit above freedom,
-above community, above principle. Thus, the rhetoric of "open source"
-focuses on the potential to make high quality, powerful software, but
-shuns the ideas of freedom, community, and principle.</p>
-<p>
-The "Linux" magazines are a clear example of this--they are filled
-with advertisements for proprietary software that works with
-GNU/Linux. When the next Motif or Qt appears, will these magazines
-warn programmers to stay away from it, or will they run ads for it?</p>
+part of the community decided to stop using the term “free
+software” and say “open source software”
+instead.</p>
+<p>
+Some who favored this term aimed to avoid the confusion of
+“free” with “gratis”--a valid goal. Others,
+however, aimed to set aside the spirit of principle that had motivated
+the free software movement and the GNU project, and to appeal instead
+to executives and business users, many of whom hold an ideology that
+places profit above freedom, above community, above principle. Thus,
+the rhetoric of “open source” focuses on the potential to
+make high quality, powerful software, but shuns the ideas of freedom,
+community, and principle.</p>
+<p>
+The “Linux” magazines are a clear example of this--they
+are filled with advertisements for proprietary software that works
+with GNU/Linux. When the next Motif or Qt appears, will these
+magazines warn programmers to stay away from it, or will they run ads
+for it?</p>
<p>
The support of business can contribute to the community in many ways;
all else being equal, it is useful. But winning their support by
@@ -925,20 +941,20 @@
makes the previous imbalance between outreach and civics education
even worse.</p>
<p>
-"Free software" and "open source" describe the same category of
-software, more or less, but say different things about the software,
-and about values. The GNU Project continues to use the term "free
-software", to express the idea that freedom, not just technology,
-is important.</p>
+“Free software” and “open source” describe the
+same category of software, more or less, but say different things
+about the software, and about values. The GNU Project continues to
+use the term “free software”, to express the idea that
+freedom, not just technology, is important.</p>
<h3>Try!</h3>
<p>
-Yoda's philosophy ("There is no `try'") sounds neat, but it doesn't
-work for me. I have done most of my work while anxious about whether
-I could do the job, and unsure that it would be enough to achieve the
-goal if I did. But I tried anyway, because there was no one but me
-between the enemy and my city. Surprising myself, I have sometimes
-succeeded.</p>
+Yoda's philosophy (“There is no ‘try’”) sounds
+neat, but it doesn't work for me. I have done most of my work while
+anxious about whether I could do the job, and unsure that it would be
+enough to achieve the goal if I did. But I tried anyway, because
+there was no one but me between the enemy and my city. Surprising
+myself, I have sometimes succeeded.</p>
<p>
Sometimes I failed; some of my cities have fallen. Then I found
another threatened city, and got ready for another battle. Over time,
@@ -953,63 +969,26 @@
granted! If you want to keep your freedom, you must be prepared to
defend it.</p>
-<hr />
-<h4><a href="/gnu/gnu.html">More about the GNU Project</a></h4>
-<hr />
-<!-- All pages on the GNU web server should have the section about -->
+<!-- If needed, change the copyright block at the bottom. In general, -->
+<!-- all pages on the GNU web server should have the section about -->
<!-- verbatim copying. Please do NOT remove this without talking -->
<!-- with the webmasters first. -->
<!-- Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the document -->
<!-- and that it is like this "2001, 2002" not this "2001-2002." -->
-<div class="translations">
-<p><a id="translations"></a>
-<b>Translations of this page</b>:<br />
-
-<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical, and in the original -->
-<!-- language if possible, otherwise default to English -->
-<!-- If you do not have it English, please comment what the -->
-<!-- English is. If you add a new language here, please -->
-<!-- advise address@hidden and add it to -->
-<!-- - in /home/www/bin/nightly-vars either TAGSLANG or WEBLANG -->
-<!-- - in /home/www/html/server/standards/README.translations.html -->
-<!-- one of the lists under the section "Translations Underway" -->
-<!-- - if there is a translation team, you also have to add an alias -->
-<!-- to mail.gnu.org:/com/mailer/aliases -->
-<!-- Please also check you have the 2 letter language code right versus -->
-<!-- http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/iso639.htm -->
-
-[
- <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.ca.html">Català</a> <!-- Catalan -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.cn.html">简体中文</a>
<!-- Chinese(Simplified) -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.zh.html">繁體中文</a>
<!-- Chinese(Traditional) -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.cs.html">Česky</a> <!-- Czech -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.de.html">Deutsch</a> <!-- German -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.html">English</a>
-| <a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.el.html">Ελληνικά</a>
<!-- Greek -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.es.html">Español</a> <!-- Spanish -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.fr.html">Français</a> <!-- French -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.fi.html">Suomi</a> <!-- Finnish -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.id.html">Bahasa Indonesia</a> <!-- Indonesian
-->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.it.html">Italiano</a> <!-- Italian -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.ko.html">한국어</a> <!--
Korean -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.nl.html">Nederlands</a> <!-- Dutch -->
-| <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.pl.html">Polski</a> <!-- Polish -->
-| <a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.ru.html">Русский</a>
<!-- Russian -->
-]
-</p>
</div>
-<div class="copyright">
-<p>
-Return to the <a href="/home.html">GNU Project home page</a>.
-</p>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+
+<div id="footer">
+
+<p><a href="/gnu/gnu.html">More about the GNU Project</a></p>
<p>
Please send FSF & GNU inquiries to
<a href="mailto:address@hidden";><em>address@hidden</em></a>.
-There are also <a href="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to contact</a>
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
the FSF.
<br />
Please send broken links and other corrections (or suggestions) to
@@ -1018,13 +997,13 @@
<p>
Please see the
-<a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+<a href="/server/standards/README.translations">Translations
README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting
translations of this article.
</p>
<p>
-Copyright (C) 1998, 2001 Richard Stallman.
+Copyright © 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 Richard Stallman
<br />
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is
@@ -1034,10 +1013,65 @@
<p>
Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2007/02/19 16:47:44 $ $Author: rms $
+$Date: 2007/03/07 05:40:16 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>
+<div id="translations">
+<h3>Translations of this page:</h3>
+
+<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical. -->
+<!-- Comment what the language is for each type, i.e. de is Deutsch.-->
+<!-- If you add a new language here, please -->
+<!-- advise address@hidden and add it to -->
+<!-- - /home/www/bin/nightly-vars either TAGSLANG or WEBLANG -->
+<!-- - /home/www/html/server/standards/README.translations.html -->
+<!-- - one of the lists under the section "Translations Underway" -->
+<!-- - if there is a translation team, you also have to add an alias -->
+<!-- to mail.gnu.org:/com/mailer/aliases -->
+<!-- Please also check you have the 2 letter language code right versus -->
+<!-- <URL:http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/iso639.htm> -->
+<!-- Please use W3C normative character entities -->
+
+<ul class="translations-list">
+<!-- Catalan -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.ca.html">Català</a> [ca]</li>
+<!-- Chinese (Simplified) -->
+<li><a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.cn.html">简体中文</a> [cn]</li>
+<!-- Chinese(Traditional) -->
+<li><a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.zh.html">繁體中文</a> [zh]</li>
+<!-- Czech -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.cs.html">Česky</a> [cs]</li>
+<!-- German -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.de.html">Deutsch</a> [de]</li>
+<!-- Greek -->
+<li><a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.el.html">Ελληνικά</a> [el]</li>
+<!-- English -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.html">English</a> [en]</li>
+<!-- Spanish -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.es.html">Español</a> [es]</li>
+<!-- Finnish -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.fi.html">Suomi</a> [fi]</li>
+<!-- French -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.fr.html">Français</a> [fr]</li>
+<!-- Indonesian -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.id.html">Bahasa Indonesia</a> [id]</li>
+<!-- Italian -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.it.html">Italiano</a> [it]</li>
+<!-- Japanese -->
+<li><a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.ja.html">日本語</a> [ja]</li>
+<!-- Korean -->
+<li><a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.ko.html">한국어</a> [ko]</li>
+<!-- Dutch -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.nl.html">Nederlands</a> [nl]</li>
+<!-- Polish -->
+<li><a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.pl.html">Polski</a> [pl]</li>
+<!-- Russian -->
+<li><a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.ru.html">Русский</a> [ru]</li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+</div>
</body>
</html>
- www/gnu thegnuproject.html,
Yavor Doganov <=