The History of Linux and Minix: Rumors Dismissed

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the history of Linux and its relationship with Minix, particularly addressing rumors regarding code copying and the origins of Linux. It includes perspectives on the development of Linux as a kernel and its improvements over Minix.

Discussion Character

  • Historical, Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asserts that Linus Torvalds developed the Linux kernel, while acknowledging contributions from GNU coders.
  • Another participant mentions that it is widely known Linus was a user of Minix and suggested that he identified areas for improvement, leading to the creation of Linux.
  • A third participant provides context about Linus Torvalds starting Linux as a hobby while using Minix, noting that Minix's restrictions prompted him to create a new operating system.
  • A fourth participant expresses surprise at learning that Linux is named after the programmer, indicating a misunderstanding of the name's origin.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants seem to agree on Linus Torvalds' role in developing Linux and his use of Minix, but there are varying interpretations of the implications of this relationship and the rumors surrounding code copying.

Contextual Notes

Some statements rely on interpretations of historical events and may depend on differing definitions of "copying" versus "inspiration" in software development.

fargoth
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well, the obvious answer is linus... (atleast he did the kernel, GNU coders coded lots of linux too)

but there were rumors going on that linus copied code off of minix.
i found a nice history articile made by the coder of minix.
nothing revolutionary about it.
he dissmisses these rumors, but it was pretty interesting to read, this guy writes well.

so here it is:
http://www.cs.vu.nl/~ast/brown/

enjoy.
 
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I thought that it was common knowledge that Linus was a user of Minix but say many ways in which it could be improved then made considerable improvements.
 
Meanwhile, in 1991, another kernel was begun as a hobby by Finnish university student Linus Torvalds while attending the University of Helsinki. Torvalds originally used Minix on his own computer, a simplified Unix-like system written by Andrew Tanenbaum for teaching operating system design. However, Tanenbaum did not permit others to extend his operating system, leading Torvalds to create a replacement for Minix.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
 
lol cool i learn something new everyday. I thought Linux was name after the programmer or user. hehe
 

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