Today the Linux kernel turns 25 , a celebration for all of us who believe in Free Software and its philosophies, but it is also a moment to look back and see something surrounding the history of the Linux kernel, a kernel that was not going to be as popular as it has become.
Initially a project by Linux Torvalds, it later became part of the GNU project, but why was it part of GNU? The answer lies in its free alternative, the Hurd kernel . This kernel is not only an alternative to Linux but was also intended to be the kernel for Richard Stallman's distribution. However, Hurd's development has been somewhat unstable and unreliable , which has meant that after 26 years, the kernel is still not as good an alternative as the Linux kernel.
Hurd was born in 1990. The kernel was conceived as the core of the GNU project, but it didn't meet expectations, and Stallman quickly approached Linus to incorporate his kernel into a distribution. However, Hurd hasn't been abandoned and is gradually being developed to a point where it's closer to the functionality of the Linux kernel than it was 26 years ago.
Hurd kernel development is over 26 years old and not stable yet
Furthermore, some distributions have created a version with Hurd as the kernel. Debian Hurd stands out in this regard , being one of the first distributions to use Hurd, but there is also Arch Hurd and Minix 3 , a simple yet powerful distribution with Hurd.
Hurd is characterized by its use of servers instead of modules , making it more powerful than other kernels, both proprietary and open source. These servers also allow the use of scripts to customize its operation, which is appealing to many users but can also introduce vulnerabilities.
Hurd is slowly being considered as an alternative to the kernel … but it isn't quite there yet. That's why, if we want to try out distributions with Hurd, the best option is to use a virtual machine, which is safer than using a physical computer directly , don't you think?