# Ruby is not rails **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [February 5, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-is-not-rails/182953 "2010-02-05T07:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/8e8cbc/32.png) [@rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/rubynut)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-is-not-rails/182953/1 "2010-02-05T07:42:15Z")
GNU was more popular due to the combination with Linux. But Richard Stallman said “GNU is not Unix”. Today ruby is most likely popular due to its killer application Rails. But other than Rails, ruby itself is yet another good script language. So can we say “Ruby is not Rails”? ---
**Author:** ![rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/8e8cbc/32.png) [@rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/rubynut)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 8:08am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-is-not-rails/182953/2 "2010-02-05T08:08:36Z")
> Today ruby is most likely popular due to its killer application Rails. > But other than Rails, ruby itself is yet another good script language. > So can we say “Ruby is not Rails”? Very very much so… that is in fact a recurring theme on this very mailing list 🙂 -Jonathan N. ---
**Author:** ![rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/8e8cbc/32.png) [@rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/rubynut)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-is-not-rails/182953/3 "2010-02-05T12:21:26Z")
On 02/05/2010 08:06 AM, Jonathan N. wrote: > > Today ruby is most likely popular due to its killer application Rails. > > But other than Rails, ruby itself is yet another good script language. > > So can we say “Ruby is not Rails”? > > Very very much so… that is in fact a recurring theme on this very > mailing list 🙂 Amazing how much fuzz is made about a tautology. 🙂 Cheers robert ---
**Author:** ![rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/8e8cbc/32.png) [@rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/rubynut)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-is-not-rails/182953/4 "2010-02-05T16:06:12Z")
On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 1:41 AM, Ruby N. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > GNU was more popular due to the combination with Linux. > But Richard Stallman said “GNU is not Unix”. So what? Linux isn’t Unix either, Unix being a particular implementation (or maybe a family of implementations) based on and derived from the original AT&T code base. Strictly speaking Linux is just the kernel, GNU never did implement a kernel or device drivers as far as I know, it provides things like shells, compilers, and utilities. You need that higher level software to make an OS (particularly a POSIX compliant OS), most Linux distributions make liberal use of GNU implementations of the higher level stuff, and the word Linux is loosely used to describe those various combinations, but that doesn’t mean that Linux really means that. If GNU had a kernel, Linus Torvalds has said that he probably never would have started the Linux project. So I’d say that GNU isn’t Linux either, nor is Linux GNU. Although Stallman always tried to stress the contributions of GNU to most Linux distributions by campaigning for calling it GNU Linux, which might lead some to thing that Linux was GNU, or at least a part of GNU, neither of which it seems to me is true. – Rick DeNatale Blog: [http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/](http://talklikeaduck.denhaven2.com/) Twitter: [http://twitter.com/RickDeNatale](http://twitter.com/RickDeNatale) WWR: [http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale](http://www.workingwithrails.com/person/9021-rick-denatale) LinkedIn: [Rick DeNatale - Developer - IBM | LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickdenatale) ---
**Author:** ![rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/8e8cbc/32.png) [@rubynut](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/rubynut)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-is-not-rails/182953/5 "2010-02-05T17:36:42Z")
Ruby N. wrote: > GNU was more popular due to the combination with Linux. > But Richard Stallman said “GNU is not Unix”. Irrelevant to your point. > Today ruby is most likely popular due to its killer application Rails. > But other than Rails, ruby itself is yet another good script language. > So can we say “Ruby is not Rails”? Yes. Best, –Â Marnen Laibow-Koser [http://www.marnen.org](http://www.marnen.org) removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid