# The GNU Operating System The GNU Operating System, Commonly referred to as simply "The GNU System", is a complete [[Unix]]-like operating system composed entirely of [free software](http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html). The creation of the GNU System is one of the goals of the [GNU Project](http://www.gnu.org/), which was [launched in 1983](http://www.gnu.org/gnu/initial-announcement.html) by [Richard Stallman](http://www.stallman.org/). It has many ambitious goals that the GNU/Hurd intends to address. These goals include increased security through the [[principle of least privilege|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle%5Fof%5Fleast%5Fprivilege]], an [[extensible system|extensibility]], conformation to open operating standards including [[POSIX|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POSIX]], modularity, and respecting user freedom. Many of these goals are things that the GNU/Hurd can resolve, however the GNU/Hurd is not the most stable operating system yet. If you are looking for a production ready GNU system, then [[hurd/running/Debian]] GNU/Hurd may not be the best choice for you. Debian GNU/Hurd currently lacks 64-bit support, many device drivers, sound support, SMP, and a few other essential bits that provide a flexible operating system. However, [[gnu.org|https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html]] maintains a list of freedom respecting and production ready GNU/Linux systems. One of the most promising of these is [[GuixSD|https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/]], which is the GNU Guix System Distribution, which eventually plans to support the GNU Hurd as the kernel! ## Resources * [[mailing_lists/gnu-system-discuss]] mailing list * [Free as in Freedom 2.0 (PDF)](https://static.fsf.org/nosvn/faif-2.0.pdf) * [Free Software, Free Society (PDF)](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/fsfs/rms-essays.pdf)