GNU (GNU’s Not Unix) is a free software project initiated by Richard Stallman in 1983 with the goal of creating a complete Unix-like operating system composed entirely of free software. The GNU system is composed of numerous software packages, including libraries, compilers, and utilities, that are designed to work together. The most well-known component of GNU is the GNU General Public License (GPL), which ensures that software remains free and open for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. The GNU project is foundational to many Linux distributions, as the combination of GNU software with the Linux kernel forms what is commonly referred to as a “Linux” operating system, though technically it’s a “GNU/Linux” system.
