*BSD News Article 2605


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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!mips!mips!newsun!gateway.novell.com!terry
From: terry@npd.Novell.COM (Terry Lambert)
Subject: Re: AT&T vs. BSDI --> 4.3BSD-NET2 distribution requires AT&T license!!!
Message-ID: <1992Jul27.213657.29545@gateway.novell.com>
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References: <1992Jul24.185653.3196@kithrup.COM> <1992Jul27.164228.28312@gateway.novell.com> <1992Jul27.193757.3628@kithrup.COM>
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 21:36:57 GMT

In article <1992Jul27.193757.3628@kithrup.COM> sef@kithrup.COM (Sean Eric Fagan) writes:
>In article <1992Jul27.164228.28312@gateway.novell.com> terry@npd.Novell.COM (Terry Lambert) writes:
>>1)	SysVr3.x has got to be SVR3.2 or later.  It didn't include streams
>>	prior to that.
>
>Some platforms had STREAMS as early as SysVr3.0.

They were either retrofits of non-AT&T code (like SCO and Unisys' use of
the Lachman code), or other independant developement.  *None* of my source
tapes from AT&T prior to SVR3.2 show streams source from AT&T.  If you are
referring to non-AT&T streams, then it still isn't AT&T encumbered.

>>2)	OSF has licensed Mentat streams for inclusion, not AT&T.  The code
>>	is un-AT&T-encumbered, and runs on many diverse platforms (for
>>	instance, it also runs on VMS).
>
>That's nice.  They also bought a SysVr3.x license, about three or four years
>ago, and the code they are shipping as "OSF/1," for both the macro- and
>micro-kernel stuff, still requires a USL source license, if you want source.

But not for the streams.  The OSF/1 (supposedly available in August) of OSF/1
for the HP PA/RISC boxes uses Mentat, as does HP/UX 9.0, available in October.
The AT&T encumberance here is the "shell", which pretends it's SVR4.

>>3)	OSF/2 is the beast of interest, and it is based on Mach 3.0.
>
>OSF/2 does not exist, nor is there any guarantee from OSF that they will
>ever ship a Mach3.0-based system.

I've heard from some very reliable sources that it's currently in the process
of being ported to several well-known platforms, and have been offered beta
code, if I wanted it.  That aside, there is no "guarantee" from OSF to provide
any code whatsoever, just as there is no "guarantee" of SVR4.3 being released
to the general public by AT&T... still, I wouldn't bet against it, unless I
had some sort of inside knowledge to that effect not available to me currently.


					Terry Lambert
					terry_lambert@gateway.novell.com
					terry@icarus.weber.edu
---
Disclaimer:  Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of
my present or previous employers.