Z:gnu-www-ja-java-trap--c115a7-In the early days of the free/en

In the early days of the free software movement, it was impossible to avoid depending on nonfree programs. Before we had the GNU C compiler, every C program (free or not) depended on a nonfree C compiler. Before we had the GNU C library, every program depended on a nonfree C library. Before we had Linux, the first free kernel, every program depended on a nonfree kernel. Before we had BASH, every shell script had to be interpreted by a nonfree shell. It was inevitable that our first programs would initially be hampered by these dependencies, but we accepted this because our plan included rescuing them subsequently. Our overall goal, a self-hosting GNU operating system, included free replacements for all those dependencies; if we reached the goal, all our programs would be rescued. Thus it happened: with the GNU/Linux system, we can now run these programs on free platforms.