Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!usc!wuarchive!uunet!ogicse!pdxgate!eecs!kirkenda From: kirkenda@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Steve Kirkendall) Newsgroups: comp.os.misc Subject: Re: Coherent Vs. Minix Message-ID: <1055@pdxgate.UUCP> Date: 5 Jan 91 22:11:18 GMT References: <19954@netcom.UUCP> <82q9u3w163w@halcyon.uucp> Sender: news@pdxgate.UUCP Reply-To: kirkenda@eecs.UUCP (Steve Kirkendall) Organization: Portland State University, Portland, OR Lines: 49 In article <82q9u3w163w@halcyon.uucp> halcyon!grendel@sumax.seattleu.edu (Grendel) writes: >feustel@netcom.UUCP (David Feustel) writes: > >> A coherent Minix386 is the best system for intuitively obvious reasons. > >Isn't it sort of a one or the other choice? =) Doesn't Minix have a 64k >limit on executables like Coherent does? Which is better? What are the >plusses and minuses of each? The standard 8088/80286 version of Minix is limited to 64k+64k, but the 80386 and 68000 versions of Minix aren't. Minix: + It comes with complete source code to just about everything: the kernel, the C library, and all utiltities except the compiler. + It is supported by the comp.os.minix newsgroup. - It is *NOT* supported by Prentice-Hall. They are barely competent enough to ship it, much less support it. + It is compatible with UNIX version 7 and (almost) POSIX. A more distant goal is ANSI compatibility. - The standard Minix-PC compiler isn't very good. + Other compilers are available. GCC runs on a 80386 or a 68000 + The internal structure of the kernel is well documented. - User documentation is poor. + Runs on many different platforms, including 80386 and 68000. - The 80386 version is not sold by Prentice-Hall; you have to buy the 286 version, find the 386 patches someplace, and apply them. Coherent: - No source code is included. Most source isn't even offered separately. + It includes many of the more advanced utilities, including troff, yacc, and bc. That's more than Xenix! + It is supported by Mark Williams Company. Very well supported. + It is compatible with UNIX ver 7, and includes a suprising number of System-V features as well -- including message passing and shared memory. + It has a pretty good compiler. - The internal structure of the kernel is not well documented. This is not surprising, since you have no access to the kernel's guts anyway. + A device driver kit is available separately (for extra cost). + User documentation is quite good. - Support for 386 and large-model 286 is expected, but not yet available. In short, Minix is for hackers on a budget, and Coherent is for users on a budget. My own opinion is that good utilities, good support, good documentation, and a good compiler are NO SUBSTITUTE for source code, so I use Minix. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Kirkendall kirkenda@cs.pdx.edu Grad student at Portland State U.