The following is Edward Counce's answer to the question, “What is Linux?” . . .

Quoting from /usr/src/linux/README . . . “Linux is a Unix clone written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX compliance.”

Linux, being distributed under the GNU General Public License, encompasses any works derived from the original kernel work of Linus Torvalds. As an interface between the hardware resources on a system and the resident applications, it can be considered a complete operating system only if all of the required device drivers are also contributed to the source base and distributed under the GNU GPL, and thus made a part of Linux. Such is not generally the case. Because the required set of drivers is device dependent, the question of completeness as an operating system can only be answered in terms of a set of requirements. In my experience, other operating systems also frequently fail this completeness test.

The term Linux does not apply to the many open source applications and utilities which have been ported to or developed for Linux. A complete set of system software based on Linux is more appropriately termed a Linux based distribution. As I see it, Linux, because it is distributed under the GNU license, is more accurately a part of GNU, and not the other way around. This fits within Richard Stallman's definition of GNU: “GNU, which stands for Gnu's Not Unix, is the name for the complete Unix-compatible software system which I am writing so that I can give it away free to everyone who can use it.” Of course, one must expand that definition, somewhat, to encompass the many other contributors to GNU besides Mr. Stallman himself.

Proprietary OSes which aim toward binary compatibility with Linux are also not part of Linux. The existence of DOSEMU and WINE similarly do not make Linux a part of DOS or Windows. I expect these generally misguided attempts at Linux API/ABI compatibility, having as a result a product which is neither fish nor fowl, will in the end serve mainly to provide customers a migration path from proprietary solutions to open source solutions, where they will finally find satisfaction.

 
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