not an OS

i was in this mIRC unix channel asking some questions about linux, and somebody commented that "Linux is not an OS. it's just a kernel... shift to freeBSD!"

anyone care to comment on what he was talking about?

oh, i was in that channel coz for some reason i don't know, the IP in our school got banned. i couldn't join. didn't know of another channel then...

Its just so stupid so really dont care to answer that.

Well, basically it's true. Linux is just the kernel of the operating system. Except for some kernel interfacing tools (like iptables, the quota tools, some disk administrating tools like e2fsck and mke2fs), there is virtually nothing else in the entire system that is being done in assocation with the Linux project (of course the rest is integrated with the Linux kernel, but it certainly isn't being supervised by Linus Torvalds). Most of the basic system is part of the GNU system. For more info, see this URL:
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html

That no reason to switch to FreeBSD, though.

i wouldn't agree to that too! if any OS isn't really an OS, it's that OS that starts with W. hehehe....

and that someone who said that kept on ranting about how freeBSD is better and a true OS, etc...

oh, so it isn't then....

I dont at all see linux as ajust a kernel...but as a whole os. The kernel does its part but linux shouldnt be anything without the applications and programs around the kernel, like modules and stuff. The kernel its just the brain in the middle.

Like anyother os has, like winblows, HPUX,SUN.

Only reason I would see to switch to freebsd is... <crickets chirping>

Anyway, the linux kernel is advancing much faster then freebsd's, I don't know why any would want to switch from linux.

Certainly, but Linux isn't the name of the O/S. Of all the components in the O/S, only the kernel is named Linux. The O/S as a whole is generally the GNU system, only running on top of Linux instead of the GNU Hurd. That's why it should really be called GNU/Linux instead of Linux. Also, "uname -o" does actually report "GNU/Linux".

uname -o doesn't report that for all distros.