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Neat project, but hate the branding. Android is Linux. I think it's really important to recognize that. Linux is not just not the one traditional POSIX style system, it's a platform to build all sorts of systems, including Android.



I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/LInux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.


Ironically, in this specific instance (Android), it actually _isn't_ GNU/Linux. Distros like Alpine also aren't GNU/Linux.


True, but it was still worth the meme (:



> It is OK to call it “GNU” when you want to be really short, but it is better to call it “GNU/Linux” so as to give Torvalds some credit.

I love this line


Americans, Chinese, and Nigerians are all humans, but it's sometimes useful to subdivide the large group for the sake of reference. This is why we say Android and not just Linux, as it helps us avoid "which Linux is it?"




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