At 20:10 -0700 1998-09-12, Richard Braakman wrote: >I find it amusing that the FSF contradicts its own "GNU/Linux" stance >here :-) Apparently linux is "GNU/Linux", but the Hurd is called "gnu" >to distinguish it from "linux".
There isn't a contradiction, the names that config.guess/config.sub use are different from the names humans would use; config.guess/config.sub use a three-part string of the following form to name a particular configuration: <machine>-<vendor>-<os>, where <machine> identifies the processor/hardware, <vendor> defines the manufacturer of the hardware, and <os> identifies the operating system; resulting in strings such as: "sparc-sun-solaris" (a sparc-based machine made by sun running solaris), "powerpc-unknown-linux-gnu" (a powerpc machine running GNU/Linux), "m68k-apple-netbsd" (a m68k Mac running NetBSD), or "i586-pc-linux-gnu"[8] (a x86 PC with a 586-class processor running GNU/Linux). Note there are three of these strings, host, build, and target[0]. The normal os string for "GNU/Linux" is "linux-gnu", and the os string for "GNU"[4] is "gnu". configure also has the concept of host, build, and target aliases, this is specified by giving configure a --host and/or --target argument (a bare argument that looks like a configuration triplet is treated as if it were preceded by '--host='), otherwise, configure uses what config.guess[5] "guesses" for the host, build, and target. This is how we can use <arch>-linux[6][7] in autoconf-based programs. Some packages (e.g. gcc 2.7.2.x) are sufficiently old to still guess "linux" instead of "linux-gnu" though. [0] this allows such weird things as a compiler that runs on a powerpc and generates code for an i386, to be built on a sparc[1][3] [1] cygnus calls such a configuration a "canadian cross"[2] [2] When cygnus named such configurations, Canada had three major political parties [3] the practical purpose is bootstrapping a new architecture [4] "Linux systems" are "modified GNU systems" according to FSF, which makes a hurd-based system an "unmodified" GNU system, so "gnu" is an appropriate name for such a system [5] assuming a modern autoconf, earlier ones have the guessing stuff in configure itself [6] I see a lot of packages using <arch>-debian-linux though [7] I don't understand why we use "i486" for some things and "i386" for others though [8] Comment in config.sub: "# We use `pc' rather than `unknown' # because (1) that's what they normally are, and # (2) the word "unknown" tends to confuse beginning users." -- Joel Klecker (aka Espy) <URL:mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <URL:http://web.espy.org/> Debian GNU/Linux user/developer on i386 and powerpc. <URL:mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <URL:http://www.debian.org/>
