diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'linux-news-3')
| -rw-r--r-- | linux-news-3 | 622 |
1 files changed, 622 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/linux-news-3 b/linux-news-3 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1d22be8 --- /dev/null +++ b/linux-news-3 @@ -0,0 +1,622 @@ +From: Lars.Wirzenius@helsinki.fi (Lars Wirzenius) +Subject: Linux News #3 (October 18-26, 1992) + + + L i n u x N e w s + + A summary of the goings-on of the Linux community + + Issue #3, October 18 through 26, 1992 + + + "The nightmare continues" + + + + +**** Highlights in this issue + +- Kernel 0.98.pl2 is out, but not very usable due to new error trapping +- ed is here, editor wars are over +- man pages for SLS +- Pirates BBS v1.9 available +- new RaWrite available +- xv 2.21 available +- Newspak available +- Kernel 0.98.pl3 is also out, with NULL pointer fixes +- more magazine articles +- Wizardly interview + + +**** Editorial + +As you may have noticed, it isn't Saturday, which means that this issue +is a bit late. Sorry about that. The reason (but not an aplogoy, I +told you this was going to happen!) is that I decided I'd better keep +deadlines for studies instead. (Incidentally, the same thing happened +to Linus, which caused 0.98.pl3 to be a few days late.) + +Because of the lateness, and because I was somewhat busy and tired +during the weekend (up for 32 hours Sunday to Monday, returned the +report on the school project 5 minutes before deadline), I have probably +not been able to catch many announcements. I have also not been very +motivated today to write extensive summaries, so some of the +announcements are very short (I slept for about 13 hours, but I'm still +sleepy). + +For those waiting for a typeset version of Linux News: you'll have to +wait some more. I have made typeset versions of issues 1 and 2, but the +look is not necessarily what I want: it doesn't particularly look like a +newsletter, nor is it particularly inviting. I will see if I can get +some expert help in designing a better look (if you have experience with +making a layout for newsletters, I'd like to hear from you). + +Issue 2 added an section that lists magazine articles that mention +Linux. This issue adds an interview section. Hopefully this section +will be appearing again, if I can get the energy to do a new interview +(not that this one was particularly tiresome), and can find new victims. + + +**** Notices + +Linux News is only a summary, if you want more information about a +given subject, please see the source that is referenced at the end of +each note (for Usenet articles, the reference is the Message-ID of the +article). I try to include all the relevant information, including +ftp sites and filenames, as given in the announcements (I probably +won't have the time or energy to check filenames, or to find pointers +to other ftp sites). If possible, I will try to indicate directories +with a trailing /, e.g. ``pub/linux/SLS/''. + +I won't include announcements on mailing lists or testing releases, +only things that are meant to be used generally (I admit that the line +can be somewhat difficult to draw, since the whole system is +pre-release). + + +**** News section + + +October 18. Linus released kernel version 0.98 patchlevel 2. He made +available both the full source and diffs from patchlevel 1. New in +this version: + * The new version contains a new FPU-emulator by Bill Metzenthen. +Bigger than the old one by Linus, but instead of only doing a few of +the most important instructions, it emulates the whole 387 instruction +set. It is also much faster than the old emulator + the soft math +library. The new emulator will make a separate soft-float library +unnecessary, which should simplify GCC distribution a bit. + * Minor memory management fixes. Actually, one of the minor fixes, +the trapping of kernel NULL dereferences, proved to break a lot code. +While this is normally a bad thing, in this case it is very good, +since it made a lot of kernel or driver bugs show up. Unfortunately, +0.98.pl2 is not necessarily usable on many computers, since the kernel +bugs creep up too often. + * SCSI driver changes by Eric Youngdale. Mostly bug-fixes. + * Some TCP/IP patches. TCP/IP is still alpha, has not been +extensively tested, and is probably not up to real use yet. + * Psaux mouse patches by Dean Troyer. + Starting with this version, Linus will no longer be making +bootdisks. That task will be taken over by H.J. Lu and Jim Winstead. + Note: 0.98.pl3 was also announced, see later in this issue. + FTP: nic.funet.fi: pub/OS/Linux/testing/Linus/ (you need to cd to +it blindly, since testing is unreadable). + (Source: <1992Oct18.144546.28249@klaava.Helsinki.FI>) + + +October 19. Peter Williams announced a debugged version of ed, the +Unix line editor, courtesy of Bill Metzenthen. ed is used mostly by +patch and shell scripts. In the early days of Unix (when paper +teletypes were common) ed was used as the primary editor (these are +referred to as ``the good old times''). Actually, that was the editor +that the Linux News editor used when his modem was 1200 bps and his +terminal program didn't work (these are not referred to as TGOT). + FTP: archsci.arch.su.edu.au (129.78.66.1): pub/linux/apps/ed.tar.Z +(both source and binary). + (Source: <1992Oct19.232055.29209@ucc.su.OZ.AU>) + + +October 20. Peter MacDonald announced an update to SLS. It contains +manual pages that were accidentally removed in a previous release. + FTP: tsx-11.mit.edu: disk b5 (presumably under pub/linux/SLS/) + (Source: <1992Oct20.021600.28568@athena.mit.edu>) + + +October 20. David Black announced Pirates BBS v1.9 for Linux. It is +a multiuser bulletin board system. Working kernel TCP/IP is required, +and 10 MB of disk space is recommended. + FTP: sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/Incoming: pbbs-1.9.tar.Z + (Source: <dbu102yi26St01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com>) + + +October 20. Olaf Erb announced Wampes with Linux support. The +announcement didn't describe what it was. + FTP: ucsd.edu:/hamradio/packet/tcpip/incoming/wampes-921019.tar.Z + (Source: <1992Oct20.180014.13048@rz.uni-karlsruhe.de>) + + +October 20. Thomas Dunbar announced a port of GNU's free-standing +info file reader. This package allows you to read the GNU on-line +documentation, instead of doing it from within GNU Emacs. Also +included are makeinfo and texindex, used for formatting info files +from texinfo source code. + FTP: tsx-11.mit.edu: /pub/linux/packages/TeX/Info.tar.Z (source +code), Info.Z and makeinfo.Z (binaries). + (Source: <8489@vtserf.cc.vt.edu>) + + +October 21. Mark Becker, the author of RaWrite, announced a new +version. The new version is supposed to run on ``nearly everything +claiming to be compatible with the original IBM-PC''. + RaWrite is an MS-DOS utility that is used to write out disk images +(e.g. bootdisks) onto floppies. Under Linux the equivalent command is +``dd if=diskimage of=/dev/fd0'' (if you want to write to the first +floppy). It is not possible to just copy the floppy image file to the +floppy under MS-DOS, since that will require the floppy to have the +DOS filesystem on it, which means that the disk will have extraneous +stuff on it, not just the parts in the image file. + FTP: ftp.ai.mit.edu: pub/mbeck/rawrite3.zip + (Source: <29679@life.ai.mit.edu>) + + +October 21. Larry Butler announced an upload of xv 2.21 binaries. There +was trouble with his first upload (compiled with debugging and hence +very large binaries), but that got fixed quickly. + xv is a program for X that displays pictures in several different +formats. + FTP: sunsite.unc.edu: /pub/Linux/Incoming/ + (Source: <1992Oct21.045610.5294@cs.tulane.edu>) + + +October 23. Matthew Lewis announced an upload of dclock, an X clock +with alarm. + FTP: sunsite.unc.edu: /pub/Linux/Incoming/dclock.taz + (Source: <1ca2b1INN1ht@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>) + + +October 25. Toomas Losin announced tvgalib, a graphics library for +Trident 8900C cards. This is based on the vgalib library, which is for +generic VGA. Neither requires or has anything to do with X or other +windowing systems. + FTP: tsx-11.mit.edu (final pathname not given) + (Source: <16746@mindlink.bc.ca>) + + +October 26. Qi Xia announced a new program cksum, a (mostly) Posix +conforming checksum program (not compatible with Unix sum). + FTP: sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/Incoming + (Source: <1992Oct26.172852.23913@sol.ctr.columbia.edu>) + + +October 26. Vince Skahan announced an upload of Newspak v1.0. It is a +package of programs related to Usenet news ported to Linux. The +included programs are: C-news (12/22/91), tin (1.1pl4), trn (2.2), smail +(3.1.28). + Newspak uses programs from Mailpak (by Ed Carp), which provided uucp +and mail for Linux. (You don't necessarily need Mailpak, if you have +equivalent programs otherwise, e.g. from SLS.) + FTP: sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/Incoming/newspak/ (probably moved +elsewhere by the time you read this) + (Source: <1992Oct26.153845.215@victrola.sea.wa.us>) + + +October 26. Thomas Dunbar announced TeX packaged as an SLS package. + FTP: tsx-11.mit.edu: /pub/linux/packages/SLS/t[1-5] + (Source: <8748@vtserf.cc.vt.edu>) + + +October 27. Linus Torvalds (a.k.a. the Grand Wizard) announced patches +for kernel 0.98.3. No complete sources as of this writing (should come +up soon). + The new version should correct most of the kernel NULL pointer +reference problems (see earlier announcement). + FTP: nic.funet.fi: pub/OS/Linux/testing/Linus/linux-0.98.patch3.Z + (Source: <1992Oct27.040101.28497@klaava.Helsinki.FI>) + + +**** Xref section + +Last week I had compiled a list of magazines that mention Linux. I +have since then received a couple of updates, listed below. I will +make a complete list in some future issue. + +If you know of any additional articles, please send me a note that +tells which magazine and issue the article is in. Page numbers would be +nice too. + +I am usually unable to verify the information, since I have access +only to a rather small number of magazines. + + +CVu, the magazine of the C User Group (UK), has had regular articles (or +columns) about Linux for about the last six months. I received an +e-mailed copy of one article, which contained updates about various +parts of and projects around Linux (TCP/IP, distributions, etc). + +The Computer Journal, a small American magazine, has also mentioned +Linux in several issue. The magazine was described to me in a way that +made it sound very much oriented towards hackers: one recent article +described how to build an IDE disk controller for CP/M. (They obviously +cover more than CP/M.) + + +*** Interview + +Why is Linux News better than BYTE, CACM, the National Inquirer, and +sliced bread? We interview Linus! In this first-ever, breathtaking, +revealing interview, the Grand Wizard Linus tells it all! Well, +almost... + + +LN: Tell us a bit of yourself and your background. Age, + education, occupation, family, pets, hobbies, computing + history, etc. + +Linus: Hmm. I'm 22 (as some avid kernel source readers have already + found out: there is a hidden clue in there somewhere...), and am + (slowly) working my way towards a fil.kand (MSc? whatever) in + computer science at the University of Helsinki. I'm currently + in my fourth year (hmm.. fifth, but one was spent in the army) + of studies, and I expect to sit here studying for a long time to + come. + + I still live at home (which is why I can afford to work on Linux + and study at the same time without working too) with my (100% + white) cat (Mithrandir, but it's called everything from "randi" + to "klomppen" depending on my mood) and my sister and mother. + The fun never ends. + + I started with computers (a VIC-20) when I was about 11, first + with BASIC, then learning 6502 machine code (assemblers are for + wimps). I looked on with envy while my friends got their C-64's + (I didn't have any more money then than I have now), but was + eventually able to get a Sinclair QL and get some real + programming done under a multitasking (albeit somewhat weird) + system. + + On the sinclair QL I continued to program in assembly (The QL + BASIC (SuperBasic) was ok, but I wasn't interested), and I wrote + various more-or-less useless programs (ranging from a FORTH + compiler and an editor-assembler system of my own to pac-man to + a msdos compatible floppy disk driver). The QL was a fun + machine, but there weren't very many of them in Finland, and + although I was generally happy to write my own programs (still + am), it did teach me to buy hardware that actually is supported. + +LN: When and why did you start writing Linux? + +Linus: I took this course on UNIX and C at the university in the fall + of 1990, and I got hooked. I had naturally seen some of the + PC-contemptibles running msdos, and I was relatively happy with + my QL, although some of the 386's were a lot faster. But one of + the books we read during the course was "Operating Systems, + Design and Implementation" by Tanenbaum, and that way I learnt + about Minix. I wanted my home machine to have a similar setup + to the suns at the university, and Minix seemed like a good + candidate. + + So when I had scrounged up enough money, I bought myself an + AT-386 compatible machine (well.. I didn't have enough money, + so I'm still paying on it, but it seems I'll get enough money + for Linux to finally pay off the last rates). I had long since + decided that anything less than a 386 wasn't worth it, and with + Minix on it, I thought I'd have a nice enough system. + + As it turned out, Minix wasn't available in Finland (at least I + wasn't able to find it easily), so while I got my machine on + January 5th 1991 (easy date to remember due to the monthly + payments :-), I was forced to run DOS on it for a couple of + months while waiting for the Minix disks. So Jan-Feb was spent + about 70-30 playing "Prince of Persia" and getting aquainted + with the machine. + + When Minix finally arrived, I had solved "PoP", and knew a + smattering of 386 machine code (enough to be able to get the + machine into protected mode and sit there looping). So I + installed Minix (leaving some room for "PoP" on a DOS + partition), and started hacking. + + Getting Minix wasn't altogether a pleasant experience: the + keyboard bindings were wrong, and it didn't exactly act like the + suns I was used to (ugghh. I *hate* the bourne shell for + interactive work). The keyboard was easy to correct (although I + didn't like the Minix keyboard driver code), and applying Bruce + Evans' 386-patches made the system a bit more "real". + + So somewhere around March-91, I had a 386 system running + Minix-386, and I was able to install awb's gcc-1.37.1 port. + After that, I was able to port bash to the resulting mess, and + things looked a bit better. I also spent my time generally + fooling around (porting gcc-1.40 and various other programs), + and kept on learning about the 386 while doing so (writing small + boot-disks that would set up a protected mode environment and + print out various inane messages). + + I had noticed by that time that Minix wasn't enough even with + the 386 patches (various troublesome problems: no job control, + ugly memory management, no fpu support etc). So I slowly + started to try to make something out of my protected mode + trials, and the result is Linux. + +LN: Please give a short summary of the history of Linux. + +Linus: Difficult. "Linux" didn't really exist until about August-91 - + before that what I had was essentially just a very basic + protected mode system that had evolved from a glorified "Hello + world" program into a even more glorified terminal emulator. + Linux stopped for quite a while at the terminal emulator stage: + I played around with Minix, and used my protected mode program + to read news from the univerity machine. No down/upload, but it + did a fair vt100 emulation, and did it by using two tasks which + communicated from keybodard->modem and modem->screen. + + By mid-summer -91, "Linux" was able to read the disk (joyful + moment), and eventually had a small and stupid disk driver and a + simple buffer cache. So I started out trying to make a + filesystem, and used the Minix fs for simple practical reasons: + that way I already had a file layout I could test things on. + After some more programming (talk about glossing things over), I + had a very simple UNIX that had some of the basic + functionalities of the real thing: I could run small + test-programs under it. + + By that time I looked around for some standards texts - I + decided early on that I didn't want to write the user-level + programs, and that in order to easily port things I'd either + have to make the new system compatible with Minix (ugghh) or + follow some other kind of standard. What I wanted was a POSIX + guide, not so much to be 100% posix, but in order not to do + anything really stupid I'd regret later. + + My quest for the posix standards failed, as the posix standard + committee sells the standard to feed itself as I found out, but + I did get a good pointer to the (then very alpha and + unsupported) GNU libc.a, which had an early manual accompanying + it. The manual was of some help, but the biggest help was + actually the contact to the person who pointed it out to me: + arl@sauna.hut.fi. He was/is the organizer of the pub/OS + subdirectory at nic.funet.fi, and was interested in giving Linux + a home at nic. + + Back then, I was only idly thinking about making my system + available (and I had no real time-table), but arl happily + created a pub/OS/Linux subdirectory at nic, and thus also gave + the system it's name. I wasn't really ready for a release yet, + so the directory contained just a README for about a month + ("this directory is for the freely distributable Minix clone" or + something like that). Arl probably thought the project wouldn't + come to anything. + + Anyway, around the end of August-91 or so, I had a system that + actually worked somewhat: I was able to run the Minix shell + (recompiled with new libraries) under it, and some other things + also worked. I released Linux-0.01 in September, telling about + it by mail to those who had shown interest in it when I asked + around on the minix newsgroup. 0.01 was a source-only release, + and I don't think anybody actually compiled it, but it was a + statement of intent, and people could look at the sources if + they wished. I don't think more than about 5-10 people ever + looked at it - I wasn't yet too happy about it, so I didn't + announce it publically anywhere. + + A few weeks later (October 5th by the minix news-archives), I + had gotten my act together sufficiently to release 0.02, along + with a couple of binaries you could run under Linux (bash, gcc, + update and sync, I believe). It still needed minix-386 to + compile the kernel, as the harddisk parameters were hardcoded + into the hd driver, but I know some people had it up and + running: arl even sent me some ftp-statistics about it (which + I've sadly deleted by now). Gcc wasn't reliable under linux + yet: it couldn't compile big files due to various buffer-cache + problems, but you could get small programs going even under + 0.02. + + Not much later, I released 0.03, which actually worked pretty + well - the buffer cache mostly worked, as did most other things. + Heady with my unexpected success, I called the next version + 0.10, and by that time I already got comments from early + beta-testers, as well as actual patches. The linux community + wasn't much: maybe 10-20 minix users who enjoyed hacking a new + kernel. + + After 0.10 came 0.11, and things were pretty much plain sailing. + The system was stable enough to be used for further + developement, and it was "just" a matter of correcting bugs and + extending the system. I added swapping to the system in three + days just before X-mas 91, and was finally able to say that I + was no longer playing catch-up with Minix. The swapping code + was ugly and not very well tested: it actually had bad bugs in + it until I needed it myself when X11 came around, but it was + something of a milestone. The next version (0.12) came out + exactly (?) one year after I bought my computer (Jan 5th -92), + and it was the version that finally got popular: by that time it + was a very much valid alternative to Minix, and people started + getting interested. + + Later versions (0.95 etc) have had a lot of new features, and + quite a few bug-fixes. There have also been major re-writes + (first the fs was slowly changed to have a vfs layer, then the + kernel sleep/wakeup primitives got rewritten, and then the mm + got restructured). In spite of that, I think 0.12 was what + might have been called 1.0 - it had the basic features, and + worked. + +LN: Have you enjoyed the past year and a half? Have you liked some + things especially, have there been things you haven't liked? + +Linus: It's definitely been fun. Things have changed pretty radically: + the early couple of months were solitary hacking runs with 5-10 + reboots a day to check out bugfixes/features - seeing the system + evolve noticeably in a relatively short time. Now, most of my + Linux hacking time goes into design (new features do take some + more thought now) and/or administrative things like keeping up + with linux mails etc - it's seldom a question of 40+ hours a + week of pure hacking. + + Getting mail (within limits) is fun: especially if it's 99% + positive, as it has been. And people have been generally + enthusiastic, sending patches, ideas, requests for features, + etc. There are downsides: before the newsgroup got founded, I + often got more than 70 mails a day. Things have calmed down + significantly: while I still get 20-40 mails per day, many of + them are from the mailing-lists and not to me personally, so + that I can essentially ignore them if they aren't interesting. + + Negative things have been mostly due to driver problems: while + people have been very nice about it, it's still not fun getting + mail about "the system from hell that ate all their files". + Especially if I haven't had a clue about what could be wrong. + Other problems have included just lack of time and different + priorities: some people have gotten impatient when I haven't + included some special feature or other. I usually need some + kick-starting if it's not something I'm especially interested + in. + +LN: Why is Linux copylefted? The copyright was different in the + early versions. Why did it change? Do you support the GNU view + of software in general? What are your feelings about freeware, + shareware, and commercial software? + +Linus: One of the basic principles has always been being that it should + be freely distributable without any money-begging. I generally + dislike shareware: I feel guilty about not paying, so I don't + use it, but on the other hand it is irritating to know that it's + there. Illogical, but that's how I feel. + + Early versions of Linux had a very strict copyright: it + disallowed any payments at all (not even copying costs etc), + while otherwise being similar to the GNU copyleft (ie freely + distributable assuming full source is made available). It was + probably an over-reaction to the dislike I felt against the way + Minix had been set up: I thought (and still do) that Minix would + have been better off had it been freely available by ftp or + similar. + + The copyright got changed with version 0.12, as there were a + couple of mails even back then asking about the possibility of a + copying service or similar. After removing that clause from the + copying conditions, I essentially had the GNU copyleft (without + the legal verbiage), so I decided I might as well use the + copyleft as-is. And as Linux depended (still does) heavily on + copylefted programs, it's only natural that the kernel should be + copylefted as well. + +LN: When are you planning the 1.0 release, and what do you expect it + to include? + +Linus: I've planned the 1.0 release for a long time, and I've always + waited just a bit longer. Right now my final deadline is + "before X-mas", but I hope it would be ready before December. + No major new features: I want some cleanups and to get rid of + bugs, but it's nothing special I'm waiting for right now. + +LN: How do you feel about Minix, 386BSD, and Hurd and their authors? + Are they rivals, or or allies? + +Linus: 386BSD and Hurd are most definitely allies - I'll be happy to + help them any way I can (for 386BSD I was already able to help + with the math-emulator, and I've been in contact with some + others re: vm86 etc). If 386BSD had been available a year + earlier, I would probably never have started on Linux, but as it + is, I'm happy to say that 386BSD didn't automatically mean that + Linux wasn't worth it. Both 386BSD and Linux have their points, + and I naturally think Linux is more fun. + + As to Hurd, I don't know when it will be ready nor what it will + look like. But it will be different enough that I don't think + there is any point in considering it a rival. I doubt Linux + will be here to stay, and maybe Hurd is the wave of the future + (and maybe not), but at the very least it's an interesting + project. + + Minix... Hmm. It's no longer a rival, unless ast does + something really unexpected with it - the niches are simply too + different. Linux won't work on many machines that Minix runs + happily on (x86, x<3, amiga, mac etc), and even on a 386, Minix + is still probably preferable as a teaching tool due to the book. + But for anybody who used Minix to actually get a UNIX + environment at home, I don't see any reason to stay with it, as + both 386BSD and Linux are free and give much better features. + + On the other hand, I have to admit to a very unbecoming (but + understandable, I hope) feeling of glee when I saw that + c.o.linux had finally more readers than c.o.minix. There was a + heated discussion about Linux on the Minix newsgroup back when + c.o.linux (actually, alt.os.linux at that time) had just begun, + and ast tried to ridicule it (one of his comments on c.o.minix + being that I wouldn't have passed his course in OS design with + such a bad system..). Ast and I mailed about it, and it left a + slightly bitter after-taste. + +LN: The Jolitzes suggested a while ago a contest between 386BSD and + Linux, what do you think about it? + +Linus: I don't necessarily think it would be a good idea: I cannot + imagine how it would be "judged" or whatever. The only contact + Linux and 386BSD has had has been only positive (aside from + occasional flame-wars, but it's a religious argument..), and I + don't think there is any need to try to get any kind of rivalry + going. The argument seems to have been that such a contest + would make both systems better, but I frankly doubt that is the + case: both 386BSD and Linux will evolve even without any special + contest held between them, and a contest would just result in + more rivalry and flame-wars. + + Linux and 386BSD have totally different goals - 386BSD wants to + be BSD, while Linux just is whatever we make of it. 386BSD was + helpful in giving me some ideas (I read the Jolitz column in DDJ + with interest), and while it's a bit scary to have a big and + well known UNIX kernel that fills a similar niche as Linux, + there is no reason to choose one over the other on a larger + scale. People will prefer one or the other, and if either shows + itself to be much better/popular, so be it. + +LN: What about the future? Are you planning to support Linux, or do + you intend to retire and let it survive by itself? + +Linus: I'm most certainly going to continue to support it, until it + either dies out or merges with something else. That doesn't + necessarily mean I'll make weekly patches for the rest of my + life, but hopefully they won't be needed as much when things + stabilize. + +LN: Are you going to write a book about Linux? Or a detailed + history, > with all the gory details revelead? + +Linus: I don't like writing documentation, and writing a book is + certainly not planned. There is some pressure for me to write a + history, hope this interview will server at least partly as one. + And there certainly won't be any gory details: if there were, + I've already forgotten them (or flushed them: I have sadly + deleted my correspondence with ast along with all other old + mail. I simply don't have room for it, and I'm too lazy to back + it up.) + +LN: Is Linux your dream operating system? Are there things that you + dislike, or would like to do differently, if you would start + over from scratch? + +Linus: There are things I'd like to change - but then it wouldn't be + UNIX any more. There are good points to a microkernelish design + and distributed systems: I just haven't got the resources to do + anything about it. I'd like to do a more exotic system, with + better support for pending I/O, distribution of processes etc, + but with just one 386 at home, I'm not likely to do anything + about it in the next few years. And maybe I'll have found a new + area of interest by then anyway.. + + But in general, I think Linux does what I was looking for pretty + well. There are details I dislike in the kernel, but the basic + ideas have worked well, and there are no major ugly warts in the + Linux design. So in that way it is kind of a dream system - + just enough problems to keep up the interest, and keep it + evolving. No program is ever perfect, and operating systems are + interesting programs: there are a lot of things you have to keep + track of, and a lot of different ways you can solve the + problems. Linux does it one way: 386BSD has many basic + similarities in design, but some major differences in + implementation. Then there are OS's like Hurd (well, Mach right + now) and Amoeba which have a totally different design strategy, + giving different problems and solutions. There may be one right + way of doing things, but I doubt it: and Linux doesn't do too + badly. |