Return to BSD News archive
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!nntp.coast.net!chi-news.cic.net!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!agate!news.ucdavis.edu!library.ucla.edu!info.ucla.edu!news.bc.net!felix.junction.net!okjunc.junction.net!michael
From: michael@okjunc.junction.net (Michael Dillon)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: a monthly FreeBSD magazine (and other *BSD's too)
Date: 18 Dec 1995 06:17:48 GMT
Organization: Okanagan Internet Junction, Vernon B.C., Canada
Lines: 46
Message-ID: <4b312c$bch@felix.junction.net>
References: <4ajc07$sb7@unix2.glink.net.hk> <4as2e7$91r@cnn.Princeton.EDU> <4asrpo$85k@agate.berkeley.edu> <4asu4b$lvt@hermes.acs.unt.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: okjunc.junction.net
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.advocacy:30635 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:10661
In article <4asu4b$lvt@hermes.acs.unt.edu>,
Bruce Jackson <jackson@replicant.csci.unt.edu> wrote:
>In article <4asrpo$85k@agate.berkeley.edu>,
>Nick Kralevich <nickkral@parker.EECS.Berkeley.EDU> wrote:
>
>> I've seen plenty of Linux books on the market. Heck, when I go to
>> Barnes and Noble's, there are only slightly more UNIX books then
>> there are Linux books. I think the Linux section takes up more than
>> 3 or 4 shelves.
>
>> I've never seen a FreeBSD book. And I seriously doubt that 20,000
>> people are using FreeBSD.
>
>There is plenty of documentation for Berkeley UNIX. You seem to be
>troubled by the fact that there isn't a lot of new documentation for
>FreeBSD. I have never purchased a manual for FreeBSD UNIX because I
>never needed it. 90% of the material from my BSD 4.3 documentation
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>from '86 is still correct for FreeBSD and any deltas are not that hard
>to figure out. The truth is that you don't need a manual for FreeBSD,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>any book on BSD or general UNIX is all you need. That is an advantage
>to being a standard.
You contradict yourself. First you say that at least 10% of the published
documentation that is claimed to be sufficient for FreeBSD is actually
incorect! An astounding figure! And then you say that you don't need a
manual at all. How, pray tell, am I to know whether FreeBSD supports FDDI
network cards? Does your 1986 manual explain how to install FreeBSD over
a PPP connection? I suspect, that much more than 10% of FreeBSD is
completely and utterly undocumented unless you already have a running
FreeBSD system.
>As far as numbers go, there are enough people still developing and
>improving Berkeley UNIX that it doesn't matter if more people use
>Linux. FreeBSD has acheived "critical mass" so its immediate future
>is good.
Agreed. ANd now it needs to take the next step that Linux took about two
years ago, namely FreeBSD has GOT to get some books in print and on
bookshelves.
--
Michael Dillon Voice: +1-604-546-8022
Memra Software Inc. Fax: +1-604-542-4130
http://www.memra.com E-mail: michael@memra.com