30 years of the GNU project

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

For more information about the connection between the GNU operating system and the Linux kernel, see here .

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

Freedom Unix!

Starting next 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 everyone who can use it. The help in the form of working hours, money, programs and the equipment is very necessary.

For starters, GNU will be a kernel plus all the utilities needed to write and run C programs: editor, command interpreter, C compiler, link editor, assembler, and something else. After that, we will add a text formatting program, YACC, the Empire game, a tabular processor and hundreds of other things. We hope to give out - over time - all the useful things that usually come with the Unix family of systems, and everything else useful, including electronic and paper documentation.

GNU will be able to execute Unix programs, but will not be identical to Unix. We will make all the improvements that would be 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, perhaps the completion of file names, and with time a Lisp-based window system in which several Lisp and common Unix programs can share one screen. Both C and Lisp will be available as system programming languages. We will have networking programs based on the chaosnet protocol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is significantly superior to the UUCP protocol. Maybe we will also have something compatible with UUCP.

Who am i?

I am Richard Stallman, the inventor of the original EMACS editor, who imitated a lot; I work at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I have a lot of experience working with compilers, editors, debuggers, command interpreters, Incompatible Time-Sharing System (NCPR) and operating system on Lisp machine. I first introduced support for terminal-independent displays on NCPD. In addition, I implemented a fault-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 share it with other people who like it. I can not, without shame, sign a program license agreement or non-disclosure agreement.

So, so that I can continue to use computers without violating my principles, I decided to put together a sufficient mass of free programs so that I could do without any non-free program.

How can you help

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

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

Individual programmers can help by writing a compatible replacement for one of the Unix utilities and passing it on to me. For most projects, such distributed work in combination 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 donations, I can probably hire some people for full or part-time work. 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 selfless people the opportunity to devote all their strength to working on GNU, saving them from the need to earn a living in another way.

For more information, contact me.

Arpanet Address:
RMS@MIT-MC.ARPA

Usenet address:
...! mit-eddie! RMS @ OZ
...! mit-vax! RMS @ OZ

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

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