Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 17:03:16 -0500 (EST) From: John Fieber <jfieber@indiana.edu> To: J Wunsch <j@uriah.heep.sax.de> Cc: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: boot disk.... Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.91.951030162615.12646J-100000@fieber-john.campusview.indiana.edu> In-Reply-To: <199510301437.PAA06264@uriah.heep.sax.de>
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On Mon, 30 Oct 1995, J Wunsch wrote: > As Michael Smith wrote: > > It's _too_small_, or hadn't you noticed? There simply isn't room for all > > the features it _needs_. > > Yes. Creeping featurism. That's all i'm afraid of. Give people more [...] > > different root filesystem', 'what do the flags at the boot: prompt mean' > > man boot. And tell me, how the heck am I going to read that if I can't get the *#$(*@ system to boot in the first place? That man page has the relevant information but for someone who *needs* it, it may as well not exist because it is inaccessible. Telling them "read the boot man page" is a sure fire way to get someone never to try FreeBSD again. Its this sort of comment that gives unix a bad reputation. Not being able to boot is an absolute showstopper. Currently there are entirely too many ways this showstopper can raise its ugly head. Some problems can be worked around by typing the correct magic word at the boot prompt, others may require the user to build and install custom boot block, still other may involve re-installing the system from scratch. Others will remain showstoppers. Now, given some more room in the boot code, it may be possible to eliminate nearly all of these show stoppers. As a last resort, the boot code should at least provide some direction for the user in pursuit of a solution. "Creeping featurism" is a valid concern. However, being able to boot without going through contortions of figuring out where the heck you can find a machine on which you can build a custom bootblock (assuming you can figure out that you need new a new bootblock), then figuring out how to get the thing installed on your machine just so you can use your computer is NOT a "feature", it is basic functionality. -john == jfieber@indiana.edu =========================================== == http://fieber-john.campusview.indiana.edu/~jfieber ============
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