On Tue, 5 Sep 2006 08:55:42 +0200, "Andreas Klemm" <andreas@freebsd.org>
said:
> On Thu, Aug 31, 2006 at 06:50:00PM -0300, Marc G. Fournier wrote:
> > On Thu, 31 Aug 2006, Constantine A. Murenin wrote:
> > 
> > >On 31/08/06, Marc G. Fournier <scrappy@freebsd.org> wrote:
> > 
> > >>Just a stupid comment, but ... Linux is one kernel, multiple distributions
> > >>... BSD is, what, 4 kernels now?  If we worked more together instead of as
> > >>seperate camps, it might make things a bit easier, no?
> > >
> > >Isn't there still fewer differences between *BSD operating systems
> > >than between different GNU/Linux distributions and kernel releases? :)
> > >
> > >>Put together a *BSD "core" ... representative from each camp and try and
> > >>steer the *kernel* itself towards a more common BSD ...
> > >
> > >I doubt that'll be productive -- NetBSD, FreeBSD and OpenBSD have all
> > >different goals...
> > 
> > Even at the kernel level?  Look at device drivers and vendors as one 
> > example ... companies like adaptec have to write *one* device driver, for, 
> > what, 50+ distributions of linux ... for us, they need to write one for 
> > FreeBSD, one for NetBSD, one for OpenBSD, and *now* one for DragonflyBSD 
> > ... if we had *at least* a common API for that sort of stuff, it might be 
> > asier to get support at the vendor level, no?
> 
> Are you really sure ? I see it more this way: For Linux on kernel
> (or device driver) level they only have to support 2 main trains:
> 2.4.x and 2.6.x.
> 
> The 50 distributions are only a burden if it comes to the point
> what different shared library / Java / TCL / etc ... versions
> are packaged with the OS.
> 
> A friend of mine doing Java development had severe issues with
> all that different Linux versions.
> 
> But a simple kernel driver only has to honour different CPU types
> and the 2.4 and 2.6 tree and maybe now a development tree but
> am not sure on the latter ...
> 
> 	Andreas ///
> 
> -- 
> Andreas Klemm - Powered by FreeBSD 6
> Need a magic printfilter today ? -> http://www.apsfilter.org/

For what it's worth: Linux kernel interfaces change every day - I mean
every minor release. Linux makes it very hard to support drivers for it.
Just look inside a module DEVELOPED OUTSIDE THE KERNEL TREE, you will
see an incredible mess of #if KERNEL_VERSION... Virtualy everyone that
started some module gave up supporting it. If it is not picked up by the
kernel or by some Debian developer, the module dissapears.The internet
is littered with orphaned Linux modules.


Best Regards
-- 
  Stefan Bojilov
  stefabov@fastmail.fm

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