*BSD News Article 31917


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Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!pipex!uknet!cf-cm!cybaswan!iiitac
From: iiitac@uk.ac.swan.pyr (Alan Cox)
Subject: Re: BSD vs Linux
Message-ID: <1994Jun10.095736.5367@uk.ac.swan.pyr>
Organization: Swansea University College
References: <2t5r0f$24q@cleese.apana.org.au> <2t8fs5$e9p@redstone.interpath.net> <Cr5uCG.BMB@rex.uokhsc.edu>
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 1994 09:57:36 GMT
Lines: 30

In article <Cr5uCG.BMB@rex.uokhsc.edu> benjamin-goldsteen@uokhsc.edu writes:
>available.  Another thing: "#ifdef linux".  I can't remember the
>standard, but the rule is predefined defines should match
>"_[A-Z].*" or "__[A-z].*" (e.g. __sgi, _AIXV3, or __FreeBSD__)

#ifdef __linux__ you mean. Yes use that all the time.

>BSD's priority is POSIX as well.  In fact, some of the utilities (like
>ed) that aren't 100% POSIX list differences (extensions and omissions
>and reasons why).
The big difference on utilities is that with *BSD I have to recompile and
install all the GNU tools to feel 'happy' with it.

>I disagree with this too.  There is no One True Linux.  You don't know
>what utilities come with a given distribution nor how they are
>configured.  Just because all the kernels are called "linux" doesn't
>mean they are all the same.  Which kernel should I be on?  1.0.8/9 or
>1.1.?  Where can I even get a kernel greater than 1.1.0?

You can be on whatever kernel you like. And if you follow any of the announces
you'd know where to get 1.1.x kernels and why you normally would choosse to
run 1.0.9. The basic utilities and the disk layout are defined in the FSSTND.
Its however not as constrained as the 'official' FreeBSD x.y whichj is pretty
much identical across all releases. I for one think thats a bad rather than
good thing. I regularly use MCC for small jobs, Slackware for big ones and
I've got a yggdrasil CD-ROM which is my reference

Alan