Michael L. VanLoon -- HeadCandy.com writes:
...
> It seems to me that a large portion of this work has already been
> done.  Why don't we just take the FreeBSD install stuff and work it
> over so it works on NetBSD?  Maybe abstract out the right parts so
> they'll work nicely on any architecture.
> 
> Jordan has offered more than once to work with NetBSD people on
> further development of install tools.  I don't see why a common
> install team couldn't form, for the betterment of both systems.  I
> think it would be stupid of us to let such an offer vanish without any
> hint of interest.

Yes, pleeeease!

It would reduce our effort to add NetBSD support by between 5 & 50%
(e.g. an XVideo port is very easy, but half the work involved is in
making a separate diskette package, separate release notes, separate
Web page, separate...).  If we could have a single installation
method, ideally with a method that allowed us to have a common tree,
a NetBSD tree with architecture specific binaries, and a FreeBSD
tree, it would service our future needs for a long time to come.
Well, weeks, at least ;-)

This obviously does nothing for a NetBSD port of Motif, because the
install process and surrounding work is closer to the 5% of effort 
end of the scale, but the simpler extensions with smaller and more
portable libs like OpenGL and XVideo would be easier to support, 
concurrent with FreeBSD.  

The easier that you make it for us to work with you, the more likely
it is that the cost equations turn towards the viability of
commercial products for NetBSD... one request for Motif for the 68040
is not going to induce us to port for the 68040, but we could well
port XVideo to NetBSD/i386 for a handful of requests, since it is 
relatively almost trivial to do so.  Making stuff like that available 
for other architectures will depend on the Server being available for 
those (which it is not yet, and is not currently planned to be, again 
on the basis of expressed interest - even if we do see the interest, 
the Server port on new hardware is a longish and initially very 
expensive process).

Cheers, JeremyC.
-- 
Jeremy Chatfield  +1(303)298-7478  FAX:+1(303)298-1406  email:jdc@xinside.com
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