Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!ames!apple!oliveb!amdahl!vohra
From: vohra@uts.amdahl.com (Pavan Vohra)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: What kinds of things would you want in the GNU OS?
Keywords: GNU OS features kernel
Message-ID: <4eR602lw2cCj01@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>
Date: 25 May 89 04:28:29 GMT
References: <106326@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <10317@smoke.BRL.MIL> <2273@thor.acc.stolaf.edu>
Reply-To: vohra@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com (Pavan Vohra)
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 57


For what good this will do --

In article <2273@thor.acc.stolaf.edu> mike@stolaf.edu writes:
>In article <10317@smoke.BRL.MIL> gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn) writes:
>>In article <106326@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> bitbug (James Buster) writes:
>>>What kinds of things should be in the GNU Kernel?
>>My opinion is that the GNU kernel should either provide an exact
>>duplicate of a standard UNIX system interface, preferably SVR4,
>>or it should be a quantum leap forward in OS design.  The latter

Good points.  A third one:

    Or it should be contemporary UNIX made simple and consistent.

Get rid of obsolete system calls and library functions.  Make them
orthogonal.  Get rid of the non-getopt options in ar and touch.
Use getopt, for Heaven's sake.  And be sane about things like date
formats.  Why not use timec in touch?  How about a simplified ps for
other commands?  Split /usr/lib off to /usr/cmdlib/bin or something.
You cannot execute an archive.  Get rid of obsolete commands.  Don't
make the kernel do anything that can reasonably be done in a library.
Get rid of origin-specific things (e.g. LBL, Cory, and Evans in finger).

Don't let nontechnical issues affect it.  OSF and UI are doing enough
of that.  Sacrifice marginal compatibility.  Or just use something like
this:

    llib-lold (including emulations of obsolete system calls)
    /usr/old/bin
    /usr/old/man (with a new manual section)

>The major goal of the GNU project has been compatibility with Berkeley
>UNIX, and then improvements.  Now that POSIX is beginning to solidify,

Oh, well.

>those of us who care can spend a few months removing features to
>get a clean, small, system, and distribute it ourselves.

O.K.  But why have them there in the first place?  Maybe you can get to
GNUmarket faster if you have a better GNU in the first GNUplace.  Maybe
it will be a better GNUmarket.

>-- 
>Mike Haertel <mike@stolaf.edu>
>``There's nothing remarkable about it.  All one has to do is hit the right
>  keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself.'' -- J. S. Bach

Kimball, borrowing Pavan's account.

-- 
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Pavan Vohra             {..hplabs|ames|ihnp4|decwrl}!amdahl!vohra
Amdahl Corporation
Sunnyvale, CA 94086-3470
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