[[img logo.png alt="[] HURD-Wiki"]]

Welcome to the **new** GNU Hurd wiki!

**There is a huge bunch of unpolished stuff on here, please help us to tidy
things up!**  Comments about how that could be tackled are best posted onto
this page's [[discussion]] subpage.

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This site focuses on providing user-centric and update-able (and hopefully the
most current) information regarding the status and development of the
GNU project's GNU operating system.  There are many areas to comment on the
core component (the Hurd) and other very closely related but distinct projects.
This is an all volunteer effort intended to supplement the [official Hurd
site](http://hurd.gnu.org/).


[[toc ]]

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## Breaking News

* 2008-09-19: We had 4 slots in the Google Summer of Code 2008 - [[check_the_results|community/gsoc]]! 

## Contributing

To help the Hurd you can for example (from high level stuff to the inner core)

* [[Contribute_to_this_wiki|contributing/wiki]],
* [[Run_a_GNU/Hurd_system|index#run]], and help others get their systems running, 
* [[Port_applications|hurd/running/debian/porting]] to work in Hurd, 
* Write [[translators|hurd/translator]] to extend the Hurd, 
* Work on the [[Hurd_on_Mach|contributing#hurd_on_mach]], or
* Help to port the Hurd [[to_a_modern_microkernel|contributing#hurd_on_modern_microkernel]].

Read about ways to contribute [[in_more_detail|contributing]].


## Getting Help

There are a couple of different [[Hurd_FAQs|hurd/FAQ]].
There are a number of [[IRC_channels|IRC]] and several
different [[mailing_lists]] with searchable archives.

Before asking a question on a mailing list or on IRC, first, please try to
answer your own question using a search engine and reading the introductory
information.  If you have done this and you cannot find the answer to your
question, feel free to ask on a mailing list or on IRC.

<a name="run"> </a>
## Running the Hurd

The most functional distribution of the Hurd is the one provided by Debian.
Find more information about it at the
[Debian GNU/Hurd website](http://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/hurd-install).

There are [[various_possibilities|hurd/running]] of running a GNU/Hurd system.

And this wiki is living proof of the usability of the Hurd, as it is served by a 
Debian GNU/Hurd system. More people using GNU in production can be found on 
[[Hurd/WhoRunsGNU]]. 

## What is the Hurd?

The [[Hurd]] is GNU's replacement for the various UNIX and Linux kernels.

The Hurd is firstly a collection of protocols formalizing how different
components may interact.  The protocols are designed to reduce the mutual
[[trust]] requirements of the actors thereby permitting a more
[[extensible|Extensibility]] system.  These include interface definitions
to manipulate files and directories and to resolve path names.  This allows
any process to implement a file system.  The only requirement is that it
have 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 that implement these protocols.  The
servers run on top of [[microkernel/Mach]] and use Mach's
[[microkernel/mach/IPC]] mechanism to transfer information.

The word *Hurd* is commonly used to refer to one of the following:

  * the Hurd software that runs on top of a [[microkernel]] (most precisely)
  * a machine running the [[Debian_GNU/Hurd|hurd/running/debian]] distribution
  * the [GNU Hurd](http://hurd.gnu.org/) project including related dependent
    projects
  * HIRD of UNIX Replacing Daemons (arguably)
    * HIRD is an acronym for HURD Interfaces Representing Depth (arguably)

The [[Hurd]] supplies the last major software component needed for a complete
[[GNU]] operating system as originally conceived by Richard M. Stallman (RMS)
in 1983.  The GNU vision directly drove the creation and has guided the
evolution of the [Free Software Foundation](http://www.fsf.org/), the
organization that is the home of the [GNU project](http://www.gnu.org/gnu/).

[[Hurd/HurdNames]]


## Current Status

There has not yet been an official 1.0 release.  The Hurd is developed by a few
volunteers in their spare time.  The project welcomes any assistance you can provide.
Porting and development expertise is still badly needed in many key areas.

Functional systems are installable in a dual-boot configuration.  Development
systems are currently mostly based on the [[Debian_GNU/Hurd|hurd/running/debian]] port
sponsored by the [Debian project](http://www.debian.org/).

Community resources for related projects focus around the official website
<http://hurd.gnu.org/>, this site at <http://www.bddebian.com/~wiki/>, the
[[mailing_lists]] and the [[IRC_channels|IRC]].

If you want to see the current discussions in the Hurd project, please have a look at 
the [bug-hurd mailinglist archives](http://lists.gnu.org/pipermail/bug-hurd/). 

For more details, please read our writeup on the
[[current_state_of_the_GNU_Hurd|hurd/status]]. 


## How is this site arranged?

The menu on the upper right corner provides a rough structuring about the
available content.  Just follow those topics and explore the wiki.

Further information about this site and how it was created can be found in the
[[wiki_colophon]].

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