Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mailrus!ames!pacbell!att-ih!chinet!dag
From: dag@chinet.UUCP (Daniel A. Glasser)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: The GNU Manifesto
Message-ID: <4249@chinet.UUCP>
Date: 29 Mar 88 08:08:41 GMT
References: <153@mozart.UUCP> <1351@sugar.UUCP> <9591@tekecs.TEK.COM> <1393@sugar.UUCP> <10106@stb.UUCP>
Reply-To: dag@chinet.UUCP (Daniel A. Glasser)
Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix
Lines: 35

In article <10106@stb.UUCP> michael@stb.UUCP (Michael) writes:
<I'd say a MINIMUM workable UN*X based system is a version 7 kernel, with
<the sys5 terminal driver (with ALL the array elements seperate, no more
<duplicating "number of characters" with "end of file"), the xenix "version
<7 compatible terminal driver", named pipes, pty's, a stdio library that
<can let you force stdout non-buffered even to non-tty's (as in "| more"
<or "| tee"), a message passing IPC mechanism (other than sockets;
<they stink), and better response for interactive processes (so they
<don't get swapped out while disk bound programs force their way in
<memory). Utility programs should include the BSD extras.
<
<Note that no such system actually exists; but still, one can always dream.
<			Michael

Actually, such a system does exist to a great extent.  The Coherent system,
from Mark Williams Company (available now for the IBM PC and other 80x86
machines) has most of the above system componants -- Note that the kernel
is NOT unix V7, but is compatible (not a port, a functional copy), runs
faster than unix V7 on every machine I've seen it on, has named pipes,
allows forcing of stdout non-buffered to anything, record locking, enhanced
TTY (not sysV), some BSD extras.

The problem is that MWC has not sold very many of these systems over the
last few years, so the development of improvements has not been economical
for them.  They are now considering adding message passing IPC, tcp/ip,
sysV/BSD tty driver (support of layers/job control), and other features.
This work may or may not be released in the 80x86 version, or any version,
depending on whether they believe that it will make them any money.

Build a better system and people don't always beat a path to your door.

-- 
		Daniel A. Glasser	dag@chinet.UUCP
    One of those things that goes "BUMP!!! (ouch!)" in the night.
 ...!att-ih!chinet!dag | ...!ihnp4!mwc!dag | ...!ihnp4!mwc!gorgon!dag