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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!gwyn
From: gwyn@brl-tgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn <gwyn>)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Re: Interesting observation -- "one true unix"
Message-ID: <5945@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 20-Nov-84 12:56:16 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.5945
Posted: Tue Nov 20 12:56:16 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 22-Nov-84 05:48:43 EST
References: <650@ames.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab
Lines: 29

> Any ideas for defending our bastion of 4.2 from the hordes of the SV bastion?
> We have tried the obvious "different and better tools."  This works only
> so far.

Different, yes.

Seriously, there are strong economic arguments for users and applications
using a single flavor of UNIX.  The two main candidates with a future are
4.2BSD and UNIX System V.  Since many UNIX-based systems will be UNIX
System V implementations, and since it is virtually impossible to support
applications that make essential use of 4.2BSD-specific features on UNIX
System V, whereas the opposite direction is much more feasible, a logical
"standard" UNIX environment would be based on UNIX System V.  However,
this does NOT mean that you have to abandon 4.2BSD!  At BRL, at least one
Division has followed the above economic reasoning and standardized on a
UNIX System V environment, but NONE of our UNIX systems are actually UNIX
System V.  Instead, the user-mode environment has been provided as a
"separate but equal" layer ON TOP of the existing facilities (4.2BSD in
the case of VAX & Gould systems).  This works rather well and has proven
sufficiently popular that some 60 other sites have picked up the package.
So, as a fallback position, you might try to talk your management into
permitting both real UNIX System V and 4.2BSD with the BRL UNIX System V
overlay, depending on what kernels are available for the hardware systems.
That way you could splash around contentedly in your 4.2BSD pool while the
official types live in their UNIX System V environment.

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