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[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011,
2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc."]]
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[[!tag stable_URL]]
[[!toc]]
Richard Stallman (RMS) started GNU in 1983, as a project to create a
complete free operating system. In the text of the [GNU
Manifesto](http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html), he
mentioned that there is a primitive kernel. In the first GNUsletter,
Feb. 1986, he says that GNU's kernel is TRIX, which was developed at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
By December of 1986, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) had "started
working on the changes needed to TRIX" [Gnusletter, Jan. 1987].
Shortly thereafter, the FSF began "negotiating with Professor Rashid
of Carnegie-Mellon University about working with them on the
development of the Mach kernel" [Gnusletter, June, 1987]. The text
implies that the FSF wanted to use someone else's work, rather than
have to fix TRIX.
In [Gnusletter, Feb. 1988], RMS was talking about taking Mach and
putting the Berkeley Sprite filesystem on top of it, "after the parts
of Berkeley Unix... have been replaced."
Six months later, the FSF is saying that "if we can't get Mach, we'll
use TRIX or Berkeley's Sprite." Here, they present Sprite as a
full-kernel option, rather than just a filesystem.
In January, 1990, they say "we aren't doing any kernel work. It does
not make sense for us to start a kernel project now, when we still
hope to use Mach" [Gnusletter, Jan. 1990]. Nothing significant occurs
until 1991, when a more detailed plan is announced:
<BLOCKQUOTE>
We are still interested in a multi-process kernel running on top of
Mach. The CMU lawyers are currently deciding if they can release Mach
with distribution conditions that will enable us to distribute it. If
they decide to do so, then we will probably start work. CMU has
available under the same terms as Mach a single-server partial Unix
emulator named Poe; it is rather slow and provides minimal
functionality. We would probably begin by extending Poe to provide
full functionality. Later we hope to have a modular emulator divided
into multiple processes. [Gnusletter, Jan. 1991].
</BLOCKQUOTE>
RMS explains the relationship between [[the Hurd and
Linux|hurd-and-linux]], where he mentions
that the FSF started developing the Hurd in 1990. As of [Gnusletter,
Nov. 1991], the Hurd (running on Mach) is GNU's official kernel.
# Announcements
These are all the announcements made over the years. Most of them were
either sent to the <A HREF="news:gnu.announce">gnu.announce</A> news group or Hurd interest
mailing lists.
* [[hurd-announce]] -- GNU Hurd announcement, May 91
* [[hurd-announce2]] -- GNU Hurd announcement, Nov 93
* [[hurd-flash]] -- News flash, Apr 94 -- it boots!
* [[hurd-flash2]] -- News flash, May 94
* [[hurd-flash3]] -- News flash, Jul 94 -- emacs runs!
* [[hurd-flash4]] -- News flash, Aug 94
* [[hurd-flash5]] -- News flash, Sep 94 -- gcc runs!
* [[hurd-flash6]] -- News flash, Nov 94
* [[hurd-flash7]] -- New Snapshot, Apr 95
* [[hurd-flash8]] -- New Snapshot, Jul 95 -- ext2fs support
* [[hurd-flash9]] -- News Flash, Nov 95 -- ftp works!
* [[hurd-flash10]] -- New Snapshot, Apr 96 -- NFS and lots else works!
* [[hurd-flash11]] -- Binary image available, Apr 96
This and [NetBSD](http://www.netbsd.org/) boot flopies should be enough to
get a working GNU/Hurd system!
* [[hurd-flash12]] -- Test release status (Jul 96)
* [[hurd-flash13]] -- Test release announcement (Aug 96)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU Hurd 0.1"
"199609070249.WAA24297@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu"]] (1996-09-06)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU Mach 1.0"
"199704142043.QAA01894@churchy.gnu.ai.mit.edu"]] (1997-04-14)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU Mach 1.1"
"199705091753.NAA15557@sugar-bombs.gnu.ai.mit.edu"]] (1997-05-09)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU Mach 1.1.1"
"199705121633.MAA26409@sugar-bombs.gnu.ai.mit.edu"]] (1997-05-12)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU Mach 1.1.2"
"199706102159.RAA13943@churchy.gnu.ai.mit.edu"]] (1997-06-10?)
* [[hurd-flash14]] -- Release 0.2 announcement (Hurd)
* [[hurd-flash15]] -- Release 0.2 announcement (complete GNU system)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU 0.2"
"199706162021.QAA18370@sugar-bombs.gnu.ai.mit.edu"]] (1997-06-16)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU MIG 1.0.1"
"199812040849.DAA07660@baalperazim.frob.com"]] (1998-12-04)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU Mach 1.2"
"199906211918.PAA26822@x15-cruise-basselope.mit.edu"]] (1999-06-21)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU MIG 1.1" "199906231741.NAA46739@pusey.mit.edu"]]
(1999-06-23)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU MIG 1.2" "20010622215446.I6130@212.23.136.22"]]
(2001-06-22)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU MIG 1.3"
"20020308220603.A90E61B9C4@perdition.linnaean.org"]] (2002-03-08)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU Mach 1.3"
"20020527203155.88DBE1BA15@perdition.linnaean.org"]] (2002-05-27)
* [[!message-id desc="GNU MIG 1.3.1"
"20020830194413.GA6819@outpost.dnsalias.org"]] (2002-08-30)
* [[GNU Hurd 0.5, GNU Mach 1.4, GNU MIG 1.4 released|news/2013-09-27]]
(2013-09-27)
# An Incomplete GNU Hurd Timeline
* 1997: GNU Hurd 0.2.
* First attempts to [[port_to_another_microkernel]]
* Personal view of Marcus Brinkmann about [[!message-id desc="Hurd
development in 1998-2003"
"87mzkvx7u8.wl%marcus.brinkmann@ruhr-uni-bochum.de"]]
* 2002: GNU MIG 1.3, libio-based glibc, GNU Mach 1.3, Hurd L4 starts, work on
the transition from cthreads to pthreads starts, Hurd installation party in
Heidelberg, Toronto Hurd User Group meeting, Presentation at EpX in Paris
([slides](http://kilobug.free.fr/hurd/pres-en/)).
* 2003: [Crosshurd](http://packages.debian.org/crosshurd), [LinuxTag
2003](http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-hurd/2003-07/msg00029.html).
* 2005: Hurd/L4 at Libre Software Meeting.
* 2007: [[FOSDEM|community/meetings/fosdem_2007]], the [[critique and
position paper|news/2007-01-14]], [[libchannel for GSoC|news/2007-10-01]],
[[IPv6|news/2007-10-12]], Hurd/L4 abandoned, Hurd on Xen.
* 2008: [[Five successful GSoC projects|community/gsoc/2008]],
[[Hurd/Viengoos|news/2008-12-12]].
* 2009: [[GSoC unionmount translator|news/2009-09-30]], [[Start of Device
Drivers in Userspace|news/2009-11-30]]. 66% of the Debian packages build.
* 2010: [Arch Hurd](http://www.archhurd.org/), [Initial Nix
port](http://hydra.nixos.org/jobset/gnu/hurd-master),
[[DDE|news/2010-02-28]], Thesis: [[Generalizing mobility for the
Hurd|news/2010-01-31]], [Hurd article in
LWN](http://lwn.net/Articles/395150/), [[procfs|hurd/translator/procfs]],
Talk: [It's about
Freedom](http://audio-video.gnu.org/video/ghm2010/GNU-Hurd_-_Its_About_Freedom,_Or_Why_you_should_care.ogv),
GSoC: Debian Installer, Hurd/Viengoos on hold. 68% of the Debian packages
build.
* 2011: [[GNU Hurd 0.401|news/2011-04-01]], xkb, [Hurd in
xkcd](http://xkcd.com/844/), Graphical Debian Installer,
[[bounties|2011-05-02-foss_factory]] on FOSS Factory, [[Lots of attention
from the press brought lots of rumors|news/2011-q2-ps]], [Talk at GHM in
Paris](http://www.gnu.org/ghm/2011/paris/#outline-container-2-5)
([video](http://audio-video.gnu.org/video/ghm2011/Samuel_Thibault-GNU_Hurd.ogv)),
slab allocator, Continuous builds with Nix, improved build system, GSoC:
[[Java|user/jkoenig/java]]. 70% of the Debian packages build.
* 2012: Half the Linux 2.6.32 network drivers build with DDE, [Continuous
testing with
Nix](http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-hurd/2012-03/msg00019.html),
improved debugging, memory mapping [with red-black
tree](http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-hurd/2012-04/msg00109.html),
switch to pthreads finished, [[live-filesystem-debugging
report|news/2012-q1-q2]].
* 2013: [Talk at
FOSDEM](https://fosdem.org/2013/schedule/event/hurd_microkernel/), [[Debian
GNU/Hurd 2013|news/2013-05-debian_gnu_hurd_2013]], talk at the [[GNU
Hackers Meeting in Paris|community/meetings/ghm2013]], *Happy 30th
birthday, GNU*: [[GNU Hurd 0.5, GNU Mach 1.4, GNU MIG 1.4
released|news/2013-09-27]].
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