GNU Hurd (usually referred to as the Hurd) is a free software Unix-like replacement for the Unix kernel, released under the GNU General Public License. It has been under development since 1990 by the GNU Project of the Free Software Foundation. It consists of a set of protocols and server processes (or daemons, in Unix terminology) that run on top of the GNU Mach microkernel; together they are intended to form the kernel of the GNU operating system. The Hurd aims to surpass Unix operating systems in functionality, security, and stability, while remaining largely compatible with them. The GNU Project chose the server-client architecture for their own operating system, instead of the traditional Unix monolithic kernel architecture, as it has many superior features.

HURD is a mutually recursive acronym, standing for HIRD of Unix-replacing daemons, where HIRD stands for HURD of interfaces representing depth. As both hurd and hird are just alternate spellings for the English word herd, the full name GNU Hurd is also a play on the words herd of gnus, reflecting how the kernel works.

• GNU Compiler Collection@ (31)
• Stallman, Richard@ (8)

See also:

• Computers: Software: Operating Systems: Microkernel: Flux-Fluke-Flask (1)
• Computers: Software: Operating Systems: Microkernel: Mach: NeXT (12)
• Computers: Software: Operating Systems: Reflective (0)
• Computers: Software: Operating Systems: Unix: Open Source (4)

• The GNU Hurd
  gnu.org
  The GNU project's replacement for the Unix kernel. The Hurd is a collection of servers that run on the Mach microkernel to implement file systems, network protocols, file access control, and other features that are implemented by the Unix kernel or similar kernels (such as Linux).

• GNU Hurd Hardware Compatibility Guide
  freesoftware.fsf.org
  A list of hardware that is known to be supported by the GNU Mach microkernel.
• Hurd hacking guide
  8ung.at
  Offers guidelines on design and implementation of GNU Hurd.