On Wed, 19 Jan 2000, Andrew Crossley wrote:

> - My OS History: Microsoft -> Linux (many different distributions) -> NetBSD
> 1.4.1 (i386).

Hmm. Is this a sort of timeline? If so, NetBSD should come first (since
a good chunk of the code was started in the late 70s), Microsoft next,
and Linux last.

> - NetBSD is an OS that you virtually have to bring from the "ground up",
> meaning there is no one GUI system installation utility like YaST (SuSE),
> Mandrakes new one for 7.0 (can't remember it's name), etc.  I feel that
> bringing a system from the ground up is a rewarding experience for any new,
> up & coming Unix hackers.

You might point out that, with the exception of disk partitioning,
bringing up a NetBSD system using command line utilities is actually
quite simple. My method, briefly summarised, is this:

    1. Boot the machine from a boot floppy or from the net.

    2. Use sysinst to install i386 DOS partition table and MBR, if on
       an i386 machine.

    3. Set up the partitions on the disk:
       disklabel sd0 >/tmp/foo && ed /tmp/foo && disklabel -r -R sd0 /tmp/foo
       (the -r should be removed on sparc machines).

    4. newfs the partitions and mount them under /mnt.

    5. Unpack the distribution:
       cd /mnt && for i in /wherever/*.tgz; do
	   echo $i;
	   tar -xpzf $i
       done

    6. Make the devices: cd /mnt/dev && ./MAKEDEV all

    7. Make the disk bootable with /usr/mdec/installboot.

    8. Reboot.

    9. Mount all my paritions, create an /etc/fstab, vipw to clean up
       the pw file and add myself, passwd root and me, edit /etc/rc.conf,
       /etc/resolv.conf (if not using DHCP), /etc/ntp.conf, and anything
       else that strikes my fancy. I put my network interface definitions
       in /etc/rc.conf as `ifconfig_le0="inet 1.2.3.4 etc.".

    10. Reboot and I'm working.

This whole procedure takes perhaps twenty minutes, depending on the
time to format the disks and whatnot. And anybody who goes through it
is going to have a reasonable idea of how the machine comes up, which
makes diagnosing problems easier.

> I have been using NetBSD for 6 months.  I certainly don't know everything
> needed to write a master manual at this stage.  But you know the old adage
> "learn on the job", that works extremely well for me.

Indeed. I think someone who is not as far from the learning stage as
an experienced NetBSD hacker has a rather better chance of producing a
good manual.

> - Should I really do it ?

Yes!

I can probably find some time to copyedit, if you want help with that.

cjs
-- 
Curt Sampson  <cjs@cynic.net>   917 532 4208   De gustibus, aut bene aut nihil.
The most widely ported operating system in the world: http://www.netbsd.org