Re: uname -s and naming confusion

[Tom Hart]

Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote:

Robert Millan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:

On Thu, Oct 24, 2002 at 11:05:56AM -0700, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote:

Robert Millan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:

According to documentation of BSD Unix [1], the uname command appeared
in 4.4BSD distribution, and the -s option is suposed to:

Oy, it gets even more confusing. BSD has always used the term
"operating system" to refer to the kernel.

heh, then i wonder how did they call the OS. anyway if the docs say
operating system IMHO this is what we're suposed to print ("do what i say
not what i do" ;))

They called it the "distribution", as in the "Berkeley Software
Distribution".  Isn't this fun! :)

This sort of ambiguity is common. The authors of a major OS textbook (http://www.bell-labs.com/topic/books/os-book/) refer to Mach as an "operating system".

In any case, the output of a GNU/Hurd system on uname should match
other GNU systems, and I don't see it as a particularly Hurd-specific
issue.

there's an important difference. "GNU/Hurd" is a more specific way
to refer to _the_ GNU system, while other GNU systems like GNU/Linux
are _variants_ of the GNU system.

Sure, but I think practical consistency is important.  I'm happy to
change the thing they way suggested here, but only if it's a change
more general than just us.  Otherwise, we only spread confusion.

Doesn't a lot of this confusion come from:

1. No enforced standardization of terminology.

The GNU project uses the term "operating system" to refer to the complete *usable* system, ie. GNU, GNU/Hurd, GNU/Linux, and "kernel" to refer to the kernel, ie. Linux, Hurd/Mach, Hurd/L4, etc., whereas the BSD people say "operating system == kernel".

2. No authority mandating the names of operating systems (in the GNU sense of the term)

Last I checked, there's nothing stopping a company from putting out a system based on GNU, Linux, BSD, etc. and using any of these terms in the system's name. Mandrake could, for example, ship a product called the "Mandrake Operating System", which would be their distribution of GNU/Linux, without having either "GNU" or "Linux" in the system's name. Of course, everyone puts either "GNU/Linux" or "Linux" in their name so that everyone knows what they're talking about.

--
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/ Tom Hart |
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\ "rmTFM - Build consistent interfaces." |
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