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From: nate@bsd.coe.montana.edu (Nate Williams)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Re: NetBSD FreeBSD LINUX and BSDI Unixes
Date: 12 Feb 1994 18:11:24 GMT
Organization: Montana State University - Bozeman MT
Lines: 39
Message-ID: <2jj64c$grq@pdq.coe.montana.edu>
References: <76.9.490.0N965E1E@teaminfinity.com> <2jbc84$1j1@hopscotch.ksr.com> <CGD.94Feb9211504@erewhon.cs.berkeley.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: bsd.coe.montana.edu
In article <CGD.94Feb9211504@erewhon.cs.berkeley.edu>,
Chris G. Demetriou <cgd@erewhon.CS.Berkeley.EDU> wrote:
>In article <2jbc84$1j1@hopscotch.ksr.com> jfw@ksr.com (John F. Woods) writes:
>>NetBSD and FreeBSD are derivatives of Bill Jolitz' port of 4.3BSD/Net2 to
>>the PC architecture ("386BSD").
>
>This isn't a very accurate statement.
>
>Yes, the i386 code in NetBSD is originally derived from 386BSD,
>but basically all of the differences between Net/2 and 386BSD
>have been removed (because a lot of them were bogus). In the
>case of things like execve(), etc., they've been rewritten from
>scratch.
Bill claims that 386BSD started long before Net/2 was released, (he and
a group working with him donated all the i386 code that's in net/2) so
both NetBSD and FreeBSD are still derivatives of that original code since
they both contain a large number of files that are wholly, mostly, or
partly derived from Bill's Net/2 and post-Net/2 work.
This statement is also backed by the fact of Bill's work in DDJ before
Net/2 was also called 386BSD.
>It's *much* more than "i386".
Agreed, but the 'i386' part still is mainly due to Bill' initial work
in that area.
"Credit where credit is due."
Nate
--
nate@bsd.coe.montana.edu | FreeBSD core member and all around tech.
nate@cs.montana.edu | weenie.
work #: (406) 994-4836 | Graduating May '94 with a BS in EE
home #: (406) 586-0579 | - looking for work in CS/EE field.