![[] HURD-Wiki](logo.png){kind=logo}
Welcome to the new GNU Hurd wiki!
There is a huge bunch of unpolished stuff on here, please help us to tidy things up! Comments about how that could be tackled are best posted onto this page's discussion subpage.
This site focuses on providing user-centric and update-able (and hopefully the most current) information regarding the status and development of the GNU project's GNU operating system. There are many areas to comment on the core component (the Hurd) and other very closely related but distinct projects. This is an all volunteer effort intended to supplement the official Hurd site.
Breaking News
We got 4 slots for the Google Summer of Code!
Contributing
Read about various ways of contributing.
Getting Help
There are a couple of different Hurd FAQs. There are a number of IRC channels and several different mailing lists with searchable archives.
Before asking a question on a mailing list or on IRC, first, please try to answer your own question using a search engine and reading the introductory information. If you have done this and you cannot find the answer to your question, feel free to ask on a mailing list or on IRC.
Running the Hurd
The most functional distribution of the Hurd is the one provided by Debian. Find more information about it at the Debian GNU/Hurd website.
There are various possibilities of running a GNU/Hurd system.
And this wiki is living proof of the usability of the HURD, as it is served by a GNU/HURD system. More people using GNU: WhoRunsGNU
What is the Hurd?
The Hurd is GNU's replacement for the various UNIX and Linux kernels.
The Hurd is firstly a collection of protocols formalizing how different components may interact. The protocols are designed to reduce the mutual trust requirements of the actors thereby permitting a more extensible system. These include interface definitions to manipulate files and directories and to resolve path names. This allows any process to implement a file system. The only requirement is that it have access to its backing store and that the principal that started it own the file system node to which it connects.
The Hurd is also a set of servers that implement these protocols. The servers run on top of Mach and use Mach's IPC mechanism to transfer information.
The word Hurd is commonly used to refer to one of the following:
- the Hurd software that runs on top of a microkernel (most precisely)
- a machine running the Debian GNU/Hurd distribution
- the GNU Hurd project including related dependent projects
- HIRD of UNIX Replacing Daemons (arguably)
- HIRD is an acronym for HURD Interfaces Representing Depth (arguably)
The Hurd supplies the last major software component needed for a complete ?GNU operating system as originally conceived by Richard M. Stallman (RMS) in 1983. The GNU vision directly drove the creation and has guided the evolution of the Free Software Foundation, the organization that is the home of the GNU project.
Current Status
There has not yet been an official 1.0 release. The Hurd is developed by a few volunteers in their spare time. The project welcomes any assistance you can provide. Porting and development expertise is still badly needed in many key areas.
Functional systems are installable in a dual-boot configuration. Development systems are currently mostly based on the Debian GNU/Hurd port sponsored by the Debian project.
This wiki is living proof of a working HURD installation, as it is served by a HURD based system.
Community resources for related projects focus around the official website http://hurd.gnu.org/, this site at http://www.bddebian.com/~wiki/, the mailing lists and the IRC channels.
How is this site arranged?
The menu on the upper right corner provides a rough structuring about the available content. Just follow those topics and explore the wiki.
Further information about this site and how it was created can be found in the wiki colophon.
This wiki is powered by ikiwiki.