Return to BSD News archive
Xref: sserve comp.os.386bsd.development:1799 comp.unix.bsd:13447
Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!bruce.cs.monash.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!sunic!news.funet.fi!sauna.cs.hut.fi!hsu
From: hsu@cs.hut.fi (Heikki Suonsivu)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.development,comp.unix.bsd
Subject: Could the BSD 4.4 Lite be a new beginning?
Date: 14 Feb 1994 02:39:07 GMT
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Lines: 46
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <HSU.94Feb14043905@laphroaig.cs.hut.fi>
NNTP-Posting-Host: laphroaig.cs.hut.fi
While all (?) BSD groups are working on to get 4.4-Lite incorporated, could
it be possible that we could also see a formation of some kind of BSD
consortium, which would act as a collector of fixes and enchancements to
4.4-Lite sources? Thus, we at least would have common BSD tree, even if we
can't have one unified free BSD operating system?
I'm still somewhat angry and depressed of the current situation, and this
problem is not getting any better with time, but turning up more and more
often. We are now running NetBSD 0.9, and it is clear that we need to go
to some other operating system because of the stability problems in it. We
would have to choose from at least four different operating systems
(NetBSD-current, FreeBSD, BSDI and Linux), each of which shine in some
aspect. I need to make enchancements to several utilities, but I would
have to first select one of the source tree to patch and then select who I
will return the modifications to. If I pick up the wrong thread, I'll
probably get stuck with the OS which looses like BETA lost over VHS, and
have to go through the trouble of reinstalling all my work to the next
winner.
Linux people seem more mature and develops faster, but the distant odor of
system V has kept me away from it.
Would it be possible that UCB would allocate at least one guy to keep the
4.4 tree up to date with all of the groups? This would be the easiest
solution, if UCB can arrange for funding.
Or would it be possible that all these groups would allocate part time of
their least cocky guy to synchronice the work with others, effectively to
form a kind of "BSD consortium" similar to X consortium. I think this
would be the best solution.
Or could someone else take care of merging the changes? The FSF? BSDI?
Cygnus?
I'm not proposing that non-BSD parts like installation utilities should be
merged (that probably is too much asked), but at least keeping the original
BSD work together.
I know this has been discussed before. It just seems the right time to
start it again, when everyone once more have to look at the same source
tree. And I still refuse to believe that it is that difficult.
--
Heikki Suonsivu, T{ysikuu 10 C 83/02210 Espoo/FINLAND,
hsu@cs.hut.fi home +358-0-8031121 work -4513377 fax -4555276 riippu SN