The difference between Linux and GNU: GNU is an operating system with different types of computer software, while Linux is a free and open-source software built around the Linux Kernel. It is one of the core differences between them. GNU software started in the mid-eighties, the Linux kernel, in the early nineties.
The GNU project is a mass collaborative initiative for the development of free software. Richard Stallman founded the project in 1978 at MIT. The development of GNU, started in January 1984, is known as the GNU Project. The first goal of the project, initiated for the Free Software Foundation by Richard Stallman, was to produce a fully functional Unix-compatible operating system completely free of copyrighted code.
The GNU Project has developed a comprehensive set of free software tools for use with Unix™ and Unix-like operating systems such as Linux. These tools enable users to perform tasks ranging from the mundane (such as copying or removing files from the system) to the arcane (such as writing and compiling programs or doing sophisticated editing in a variety of document formats).
Although GNU was proposed in the mid-eighties, it was not until the early nineties that it became a reality. Before that time, many GNU utilities (such as gcc, bash, and Emacs) were developed, but GNU itself was not complete.
Many of the programs in GNU are released under the auspices of the GNU Project; those are called GNU packages.
The name “GNU” is a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not Unix.” “GNU” is pronounced g'noo, as one syllable, like saying “grew” but replacing the r with n.
GNU operating system
