In some cases I have noticed that some people say GNU/Linux instead of just Linux. Why is that so? Do both terms mean the same or is there a subtle difference?
Why do some people refer to Linux as GNU/Linux?
terminology;gnu;linux distribution
The GNU project was created to produce a free software alternative to Unix. They were able to produce most of the programs an operating system would provide, but their kernel, the GNU Hurd, was not stable enough to rely upon.Linux is a kernel, the most base level of an operating system, and was created and published under the GNU GPL, a free license. It came to be adopted as the kernel of the GNU OS while the Hurd continued to be developed, but it remains an external project and is not officially part of GNU.It is entirely reasonable to call the combination GNU/Linux as they are two distinct projects paired together. Strictly speaking, Linux by itself is not very useful without all the other software in GNU. But GNU is awkward to pronounce and is a nerdy acronym (but not nearly so nerdy as the double-recursive acronym of Hurd/Hird). Linux is easier to pronounce and is a more conventionally marketable name (being a short word with no previous meaning.)For better or worse, Linux is now a metonym for the whole GNU/Linux OS and greater ecosystem. While it's not ideal that so many people only know the name Linux and not the GNU project which provides most of what they use, the reality is that language is incredibly hard to shift once it has settled, and I personally don't anticipate the situation ever changing. Let's educate people about the GNU OS, but let's not make a fuss if our grandparents (or grandchildren, depending on who you are) don't get the distinction.