The Hurd is not the most advanced kernel known to the planet (yet),
but it does have a number of enticing features:
- it's free software
-
Anybody can use, modify, and redistribute it under the terms of the
GNU General Public License (GPL).
- it's compatible
-
The Hurd provides a familiar programming and user environment. For
all intents and purposes, the Hurd is a modern Unix-like kernel. The
Hurd uses the GNU C Library,
whose development closely tracks standards such as ANSI/ISO, BSD,
POSIX, Single Unix, SVID, and X/Open.
- it's built to survive
-
Unlike other popular kernel software, the Hurd has an object-oriented
structure that allows it to evolve without compromising its design.
This structure will help the Hurd undergo major redesign and
modifications without having to be entirely rewritten.
- it's scalable
-
The Hurd implementation is aggressively multithreaded so that it runs
efficiently on both single processors and symmetric multiprocessors.
The Hurd interfaces are designed to allow transparent network clusters
(collectives), although this feature has not yet been
implemented.
- it's extensible
-
The Hurd is an attractive platform for learning how to become a kernel
hacker or for implementing new ideas in kernel technology. Every part
of the system is designed to be modified and extended.
- it's stable
-
It is possible to develop and test new Hurd kernel components without
rebooting the machine (not even accidentally). Running your own
kernel components doesn't interfere with other users, and so no
special system privileges are required. The mechanism for kernel
extensions is secure by design: it is impossible to impose your
changes upon other users unless they authorize them or you are the
system administrator.
- it exists
-
The Hurd is real software that works Right Now. It is not a research
project or a proposal. You don't have to wait at all before you can
start using and developing it.
The Hurd, together with the GNU Mach microkernel, the GNU C Library
and the other GNU and non-GNU programs in the GNU system, provide a
rather complete and usable operating system today. It is not ready
for production use, as there are still many bugs and missing features.
However, it should be a good base for further development and
non-critical application usage.
The GNU system (also called GNU/Hurd) is completely self-contained
(you can compile all parts of it using GNU itself). You can run
several instances of the Hurd in parallel, and debug even critical
servers in one Hurd instance with gdb running on another Hurd
instance. You can run the X window system, applications that use it,
and advanced server applications like the Apache webserver.
On the negative side, the support for character devices (like sound
cards) and other hardware is mostly missing. Although the POSIX
interface is provided, some additional interfaces like POSIX shared
memory or semaphores are still under development.
All this applies to the current development version, and not to the
last release (0.2). We encourage everybody who is interested to try
out the latest development version, and send feedback to the Hurd
developers.
[
Chinese(Simplified)
| Chinese(Traditional)
| Dutch
| English
| Esperanto
| Greek
| Hebrew
| Italian
| Polish
| Spanish
]
Return to GNU's home page.
Please send FSF & GNU inquiries & questions to
gnu@gnu.org.
There are also other ways to
contact the FSF.
Please send comments on these web pages to
web-hurd@gnu.org,
send other questions to
gnu@gnu.org.
Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
Updated:
$Date$ $Author$