But why an X, and who actually chose that name?
Operating systems such asIRIX,Xenix,AIX, andHP-UXspring to mind, but there are many more.
That begs the question, why did Unix use an X in the first place?
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
The system was called Multics, standing for Multiplexed Information and Computer Service.
Multiplexing is computer-speak for doing several things at once.
The management at Bell grew disillusioned with the Multics project and pulled out.
Dave McKay/How-To Geek
He was assisted byDennis Ritchie.
How and when it morphed to Unix, with the CS becoming X, no one recalls.
Unix, of course, went on tochange the world.
Dave McKay/How-To Geek
Professor Andrew Tanenbaum, now retired, was the Professor Emeritus at theVrije Universiteitin Amsterdam.
He called his operating system MINIX.
He co-authored a book calledOperating Systems: Design and Implementationdescribing his operating system and containing the printed source code.
He liked MINIX but thought there could be improvements, such as better handling ofinterrupts.
He also didnt like the MINIX license, which restricted its use to educational purposes only.
Theres no mention of a name for the new operating system in this email.
Professor Tanenbaum retired in 2014.MINIX version 3 is still available, although it no longer seems to be maintained.
The name of the directory was “/pub/OS/Linux.”
But where did the name Linux come from?
In his bookJust For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary,Torvalds has this to say.
Privately, I called it Linux.
Honest: I didnt want to ever release it under the name Linux because it was too egotistical.
What was the name I reserved for any eventual release?
Freaks with the requisite X.)
But it really didnt matter.
At that point, I didnt need a name for it because I wasnt releasing it to anybody.
He also acknowledges that the X is a requisite.
Hes clear on that, but not on what to call his operating system.
They were something of kindred spirits and struck up an email-based friendship.
We dont know if Ari Lemmke actuallylikedthe name Linux, but we do know he hated the name Freax.
So he named the directory “/pub/OS/Linux.”
And that was that.
It was a done deal.
Linus uploaded version 0.01 of Linux on September 17, 1991, and emailed a few interested parties directly.
Within months, others were contributing to the code.
Like small pebbles that build into an avalanche, theworld’s largest open-source project was underway.
We cant talk about naming Linuxwithout mentioning GNU.
All of Linus Torvalds effort was to develop thekernelof an operating system.
GNU had the opposite problem.
They had all the core Unix-like utilities, but no kernel.
GNU advocates say we should call Linux GNU/Linux to acknowledge the massive contribution GNU makes to Linux.
They do have a point, but I think that ships sailed.
Whats in a Name?
And wed think nothing of it.
