*BSD News Article 84909


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From: rdeal@atl.lmco.com (Richard Deal)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.solaris,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.unix.internals,comp.unix.osf.osf1
Subject: Re: Solaris 2.6
Date: 13 Dec 1996 13:59:53 GMT
Organization: ATL Lockheed Martin
Lines: 82
Distribution: inet
Message-ID: <58rngp$17s5@bea.atl.lmco.com>
References: <32986299.AC7@mail.esrin.esa.it> <58ma5l$kb2@abyss.west.sun.com> <58mnvu$h27@web.nmti.com> <58n5q1$9ci@arktur.rz.uni-ulm.de> <58pdbt$mjv@web.nmti.com>
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In article <58pdbt$mjv@web.nmti.com>, peter@nmti.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
> In article <58n5q1$9ci@arktur.rz.uni-ulm.de>,
> Andreas Borchert <borchert@turing.mathematik.uni-ulm.de> wrote:
> > On 11 Dec 1996 16:37:18 GMT, Peter da Silva <peter@nmti.com> wrote:
> > > I've got a bunch of reasons for disliking Solaris. That it's based on System
> > > V isn't one of them. I've got far more experience with System V than BSD.
> 
> > Would you please so kind to enumerate some of your reasons?

I find it hard to believe you have much SysV experience.  My first Unix system
was A/UX wich is SysVr2.  I have always preffered the SysV admin and user
env., so when solaris came out I switched to it.  I was running solaris 2.0 on
my desk and started switching the network over at 2.3.  By 2.4 (early access)
I had 95% of the computers I mantained running it.  I was able to do this by
giveing the users everything they had under 4.1.3 under solaris 2.x.  This
means that I had to recompile all the public domain software or run under
binary compatibility mode as well as the commercial and local written software.
The only had part was getting some of the commercial software since some of
the 3rd party companies had not yeaht ported their software.  Alot of it I
just run under binary compatibility mode, till they got their own port.
All in all it is usually quite trivial to port or compile software under
solaris.  The code that is the hardest (and not really hard at all) is code
that is neither SysV or BSD.  I have seen alot of code that mixes sysV and BSD
lib. calls pretty much line by line.  To compile this stuff you pretty much
just need to link in the BSD libs, one more -l, boy that was hard.
> 
> What, again?
> (1) It's a very large and complex system.
> 	(but it doesn't do much more than simpler systems)
not all that large or complex.  Just install the minimal solaris and you will
only have SysV.  The kernal is tiny since all device drivers are loadable
modules.  If you install the full up version then it is still about the same
size to smaller than most other commercial Unix distributions.  It also does
tend to do much more.  

> (2) It doesn't provide good System V administrative semantics.
> 	(but it uses System V commands and files)
The sysV admin semantics are exactly the same as on any other TRUE sysV system.
I wish it used more of inittab myself but most sysV systems don't  these days.
what exactly is not sysV like as far as Admin semantics go?

> (3) It doesn't provide good BSD administrative semantics.
> 	(but it does use some BSD stuff as well)
no how would it do that.  Solaris is SysV NOT BSD.  What system does give you
both BSD and SysV admin. semantics?  Solaris only provides some BSD
development and user enterface but they are optional.

> (4) It's harder to port System V software to Solaris than to other
>     System V boxes.
> 	(that's UHC, Intel UNIX, Unixware, and Xenix software)
I really don't understand this one.  I have never had any problem porting
software that was written useing only sysV calls.

> (5) BSD software ports pretty well, but you have to make sure to set
>     your paths right to make sure you don't get the System V environment.
> 	(Watch out for /usr/ccs/bin)
Well there has to be some way to destenguish between the sysV libs and the BSD
libs.  

> (6) On the same hardware, it doesn't perform as well as SunOS.
> 	(Of course SunOS doesn't perform at all on the new hardware. Sigh)
Well now that doesn't seem to be true now does it.  solaris 2.4 performed the
same as SunOS 4.1.3 for nearly all single threaded benchmarks.  Solaris 2.3
outperformed SunOS 4.1.3 for most multithreaded benchmarks.  Solaris 2.5
outperforms SunOS 4.1.3 for nearly all benchmarks.
> 
> Now, some of these have apparently been fixed in 2.4 and 2.5, and of course
> porting System V software has become less of an issue... I've done my ports,
> and new software that uses the System V interfaces tends to be written for
> the Solaris environment now. But Solaris gave me a pretty bad time for a
> pretty long time, and I'm not much interested in renewing my acquaintance
> with it.
> -- 
> </peter>



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The Butcher                  
Butch Deal                   rdeal@atl.lmco.com
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