*BSD News Article 17770


Return to BSD News archive

Xref: sserve comp.os.minix:22410 comp.os.386bsd.misc:550 comp.os.linux:45881
Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!geraldo.cc.utexas.edu!dumbo.cc.utexas.edu!not-for-mail
From: mcintosh@dumbo.cc.utexas.edu (aubrey mcintosh)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix,comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.linux
Subject: Re: Re: Choosing a Unix like OS for a pc
Date: 30 Jun 1993 21:13:27 -0500
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Lines: 50
Message-ID: <20th87$q0q@dumbo.cc.utexas.edu>
References: <C9E4J4.Fsw.1@cs.cmu.edu><20sscl$brc@usenet.mcs.kent.edu>
  <C8wC29.9qq@world.std.com> <201f9p$kkv@klaava.Helsinki.FI> 
  <203s5k$j9u@urmel.informatik.rwth-aachen.de>
NNTP-Posting-Host: dumbo.cc.utexas.edu
Followups-To: comp.os.minix

cmaeda+@cs.cmu.edu (Christopher Maeda) grumps:
 
> What a breakthrough!  If you want your kernel to compile twice as 
> fast, use a compiler that's twice as dumb or leave out half the 
> functionality.  You guys should write a paper for usenix.
 
Gored my ox, he did!  Probably wasn't even reading a [lm]in[iu]x 
group.
----

Good design knows it's objectives and propagates the essential.

Comp.lang.oberon is currently enthusiastic.    I certainly like it.
A wonderous graphic object interface on a single floppy, a
compiler and operating system that compile in 9 seconds or so.
Typeset a paragraph with a mouse click.  User data files directly 
portable between SGI, MacII, SPARC, Vax/Ultrix, '386-DOS bases, and 
direct source portability between platforms, no special flags, just 
compile and go.

delozier@condor.mcs.kent.edu (Greg Delozier) writes:

> I had someone ask how many floppies he should bring in to get a copy 
> of Oberon, and when I told him just one, he nearly dropped.

Hmm.  He must have seen it execute first.  None of my friends 
believe it either.  Keep asking where the rest of it is, really.


If the original poster wants an "alternative to MS-DOS", as opposed
to "a Unix like OS for a pc" I would encourage him to look at
Oberon.  Especially if migration after all the current hardware
is obsolete matters.

I think many of the people who liked Minix back when I posted here, 
during the 1.5.1x update-of-the-day crazy times,  :-)  would be 
intrigued with Oberon.  There are several ports from the original 
"on the silicon" system which essentially replace the file system 
with hooks to the underlying OS.  Depending on the memory models 
available to current '386 Minixen, it might be possible to have a 
Minix/Oberon running very soon.

I would be especially interested in hearing comments from old hands, 
after reviewing Oberon, although it seems the other end of the 
spectrum than Amoeba with one user, one process, one cpu.  

-- 
Aubrey McIntosh  /  Chemistry  /  University of Texas  /  Austin, TX 78712
Duncan McIntosh came to America with his wife and infant son near 
the end of the revolution.