Re: GNU/Linux

Marty Leisner (leisner@rochester.rr.com)
Tue, 06 Apr 1999 00:46:28 -0400

> >On Sat, 3 Apr 1999, Larry McVoy wrote:
> >The most minimal complete Linux system consists of the kernel, some of the
> >utilities in util-linux, a means of remote login and file transfer, a file
> >editor, and the means to develop, test, compile and install all of the
> >preceding.
> >
> >We can quibble over the real proprietorship of the copyright, and the
> >separate issue of licence under the copyright, for all categories but the
> >last. But when we come to real credit for the Linux achievement we should
> >admit that Linux would not exist without the last category. Let me make
> >that plain: Linux would not exist without Richard Stallman.
>
> Nonsense. GCC may be the best free C compiler out there, but it's
> certainly not the only one and it certainly wasn't the only one in
> 1991. If GCC wasn't around, one of the other free compilers would
> have been suitable for the job, unless you're actually stating that
> writing a compiler is such a grim horrible job that only a saint
> would sacrifice themself to do it.
>
> ____
> david parsons \bi/ This latter is, of course, nonsense, and offtopic
> \/

I've been actively using free software for more than a dozen years
(since gcc 1.18).

I know of no other full, free compiler which runs on a variety of popular
processors (MIPS, Sparc, NSxxx, i386, M68xxx, some more). (which one were
you thinking off?)

I don't think lcc was around in 1991...

Small-C was just a subset of C...

I really think if a quality, free, portable compiler wasn't written,
this would have been all for naught...

And a C compiler needs:
a debugger
an assembler, linker, and object utilities

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