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From: Ray Auchterlounie <rda@kythera.demon.co.uk>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: Historic Opportunity facing Free Unix (was Re: The Lai/Baker paper, benchmarks, and the world of free UNIX)
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 21:55:05 +0100
Lines: 37
Message-ID: <199604182055.VAA06262@kythera.demon.co.uk>
References: <4ki055$60l@Radon.Stanford.EDU> <jdd.829261293@cdf.toronto.edu> <yfglok14n5r.fsf@time.cdrom.com> <316ECE94.61162F47@dark.mountain.stronghold> <4kntvi$hmm@agate.berkeley.edu>
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Justin "Rhys Thuryn" McNutt <rhys@vortex.cc.missouri.edu> wrote:
>Ray Auchterlounie (rda@kythera.demon.co.uk) wrote:
[...]
>: If this happens we've gone full circle back to a maze of different
>: unixes all based on Linux but all subtly different/incompatible and
>: all claiming to be the "standard".
>: The opportunity will then be well and truly missed. :(
>This isn't quite valid. While I see your point, and agree that it would be
>very well to avoid such a situation, in your example above, Solaris and AIX are
>two completely different Unices, while Caldera's Linux and FT-POSIX are still
>pretty much the same Linux underneath.
Same kernel maybe, but it sounded from the announcement that FT-Posix
has different libc and compiler (possibly modified, possibly
completely different). Different packaging/install systems on
different releases could easily make a mess too. Yes you can work
round this, but at the cost of losing the ease of installation and
management...
And then, even if applications _run_, are they supported ?
In some environments a high premium is placed on this.
"This Linux thing, will it run X and Y ?"
"Well, yes but they're only supported under different versions."
"Are they both supported on Windows95 ?"
"Ermm, yes..."
ray
--
Ray Auchterlounie Research Student (still) at:
<rda@kythera.demon.co.uk> Signal Processing Group
<rda@eng.cam.ac.uk> Cambridge University Engineering Dept.
"Don't ask me about my thesis (TM)"