Busy busy busybox [LWN.net]

Busy busy busybox

Posted Oct 2, 2006 22:37 UTC (Mon) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link]

It can ultimately be very good or very bad for Linux kernel. Solaris kernel makes a nice counterpoint or foil against Linux development.

The Linux devs (not all of them, obviously) argue things like:
Having a stable kernel release is not important.
Maintaining driver compatability is not important.
Having internal trace'ng and performance evaluation for production kernels are not important (thinking of dtrace)
having a volitile kernel development model is important for rapid technical progression of your operating system.

Meanwhile you have a whole group of people saying how wrong the kernel developers are.

IF (big if) the CDDL ends up compatable with GPLv3, or Sun dual licenses it or whatever then with Solaris they (the Linux kernel naysayers) automaticly get all the stuff that they've been bitching about being missing. Hopefully then they'll leave the Linux developers alone! Then in a couple years it will be obvious on weither or not the Linux developers are realy realy right in their stances on these sort of kernel-related issues.

If the Linux kernel developers are right on these technical issues and all these hippy 'GNU/OpenSolaris' users will find that Linux-based systems will far outstrip them in capabilities, usability, and performance. The Linux devs are then heralded as technical wondermen that they are and will garner a lot more support. (Linus powns joo)

If the Linux kernel developers are wrong then it will be obvious that 'The Emperor has no clothes!' and they will loose a huge amount of credibility and support. But it would be termporary, they would release the Linux 3.0 kernel and address the technical and developmental limitations of 2.6 and life would go on. It would just be another mistake like Linus trying to fight smp support or Linux adopting bitkeeper as the versioning software of choice.

Either way it's win-win in the long term.

That is until... HURD TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM IN 2025!!!! YOU ALL WILL BE ASSIMILATED. RESTIANCE IS FUTILE! SURRENDER ALL COPYRIGHTS TO THE FSF!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Busy busy busybox

Posted Oct 3, 2006 0:47 UTC (Tue) by bojan (subscriber, #14302) [Link]

> HURD TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM IN 2025!!!!

You have a typo there. The year should be 2325. Sorry, it was too good to resist ;-)

Busy busy busybox

Posted Oct 7, 2006 4:50 UTC (Sat) by vonbrand (subscriber, #4458) [Link]

If the Linux kernel developers are right on these technical issues and all these hippy 'GNU/OpenSolaris' users will find that Linux-based systems will far outstrip them in capabilities, usability, and performance. The Linux devs are then heralded as technical wondermen that they are and will garner a lot more support.

No need. Linux had outstripped Solaris by Linux 2.2 or thereabouts. I know, we ran boxen with Solaris (they crawled along), and migrating over to Red Hat got them to fly.