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Diffstat (limited to 'hurd/what_is_the_gnu_hurd.mdwn')
| -rw-r--r-- | hurd/what_is_the_gnu_hurd.mdwn | 22 |
1 files changed, 20 insertions, 2 deletions
diff --git a/hurd/what_is_the_gnu_hurd.mdwn b/hurd/what_is_the_gnu_hurd.mdwn index 8315bfff..0ccead52 100644 --- a/hurd/what_is_the_gnu_hurd.mdwn +++ b/hurd/what_is_the_gnu_hurd.mdwn @@ -12,6 +12,13 @@ License|/fdl]]."]]"""]] [[!meta title="What Is the GNU Hurd?"]] The Hurd is the GNU project's replacement for the [[UNIX]] system's [[kernel]]. +There are several +[[free software operating systems|https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.en.html]] +using the [[Linux kernel|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel]]. The +Hurd is an alternate operating system that uses a different kernel. You can +read more about the status of the Hurd [[here|hurd/status]]. If you decide +to use the Hurd, then we would recommend +[[the Debian GNU/Hurd distribution|https://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/]]. The Hurd is firstly a collection of protocols formalizing how different components may interact. The protocols are designed to reduce the mutual @@ -23,7 +30,8 @@ access to its backing store and that the [[principal]] that started it own the file system node to which it connects. The Hurd is also a set of [[servers|translator]] that implement these -protocols. They include file systems, network protocols and authentication. +protocols. They include [[file systems|hurd/translator/ext2fs]], network +protocols and [[authentication|hurd/translator/auth]]. The servers run on top of the [[microkernel/Mach]] [[microkernel]] and use Mach's [[microkernel/mach/IPC]] mechanism to transfer information. @@ -33,7 +41,14 @@ provides the same standard interfaces known from other [[UNIX]]-like systems. Thus, for a typical user, the Hurd is intended to silently work in the background providing the services and infrastructure which the [[microkernel]] itself has no business implementing, but that are required for higher level -programs and libraries to operate. +programs and libraries to operate. Let's look at an example. + +[[!img open_issues/images/overview.svg]] + +Firefox invokes glibc's `send ()`, which in turn uses the pfinet (or +lwip) TCP/IP stack, which talk to our device drivers (rump or netdde), +which can actually access the hardware without entering kernel space +(GNU Mach). That's a lot of power for userspace! The Hurd supplies the last major software component needed for a complete [[GNU_operating_system|running/gnu]] as originally conceived by Richard @@ -44,7 +59,10 @@ organization that is the home of the [GNU project](http://gnu.org/gnu/). The Hurd development effort is a somewhat separate project from the [[Debian_GNU/Hurd|hurd/running/debian]] port. +Want to know what the Hurd can do? Read the [[status|hurd/status]] page. Read about what the GNU Hurd is [[gramatically_speaking]]. Read about the [[origin_of_the_name]]. + +Want to read more [[Hurd documentation|hurd/documentation]]? |