Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!vsi1!altos86!dtynan From: dtynan@altos86.Altos.COM (Dermot Tynan) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: Re: The future of MINIX Message-ID: <3534@altos86.Altos.COM> Date: 15 Jul 89 00:04:58 GMT References: <19504@louie.udel.EDU> <5870011@hpcvca.CV.HP.COM> Organization: Altos Computer Systems, San Jose, CA Lines: 51 OK, some various unsolicited comments... 1. The size of the Minix textbook. While I don't have a copy in front of me, it would seem to me that you could free up a lot of space by removing the "man" pages. They should really be online like the rest of the pages, and if anyone really wants a hard-copy, there's always 'lp'. Failing that, P-H could have a subsidiary market for man-pages :) 2. The cross-reference listing... I agree with a lot of what has been said already, although I have had problems in the past, with routines that are in the code (1.2x), but not in the book. Of course, 'grep' knows what to do in cases like that... I don't think that indirect references in the text buy you anything, because there is more to an update than changed line numbers. There is no way to get around the problem of discussing a section of code that now does something *completely* different. 3. Merged source code. I think it would be great if all the different Minix varieties were on the same disk-set. I'd like to see the Atari code, even if I have a PC. On the one hand, this is easier for P-H, because they don't have to stock multiple distributions, but requires that the distribution be bigger. Of course, there's always the problem of different disk formats... One thing I would like to warn against, though, is heavy use of '#ifdef's. If they are used more than minimally, the code becomes unreadable. One good solution is to produce a source-tree, with directories of 'common', 'IBM-PC', 'i8086', 'Atari', 'm68k', etc. The breakdown being by machine, cpu, and common. 4. Protected mode. I'm glad to see that Andy has decided to use Bruces' code. I hope this doesn't mean us unfortunates stuck with prehistoric Intel chips, won't get left by the wayside. Does it also mean that we'll see swapping (or at least shared-text) in the next release?? 5. TCP/IP. I am going to be posting Des Youngs' Minix port of TCP/IP (KA9Q), within the next week. Des gets all the credit for this one, all I'm doing, is posting it on the net, because he is out of town. He put a lot of work into it, and it's a real nice port. However, the disk he gave me has some original files on there, so I need to diff them against the release, so as not to infringe on P-Hs' copyright. That could take a while... The size, by the way, is about 800K. But that is before the 'diff'ing. - Der -- dtynan@altos86.Altos.COM (408) 946-6700 x4237 Dermot Tynan, Altos Computer Systems, San Jose, CA 95134 "Far and few, far and few, are the lands where the Jumblies live..."