From owner-freebsd-advocacy Wed Nov 4 14:36:22 1998 Return-Path: Received: (from majordom@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) id OAA20420 for freebsd-advocacy-outgoing; Wed, 4 Nov 1998 14:36:22 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from owner-freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG) Received: from nothing-going-on.demon.co.uk (nothing-going-on.demon.co.uk [193.237.89.66]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id OAA20220 for ; Wed, 4 Nov 1998 14:35:47 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from nik@nothing-going-on.demon.co.uk) Received: (from nik@localhost) by nothing-going-on.demon.co.uk (8.8.8/8.8.8) id VAA07954; Wed, 4 Nov 1998 21:41:07 GMT (envelope-from nik) Message-ID: <19981104214106.45111@nothing-going-on.org> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 21:41:06 +0000 From: Nik Clayton To: Jeremy Lea , "Jordan K. Hubbard" , advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: On advocating FreeBSD and the Halloween memo... References: <709.910110116@time.cdrom.com> <19981103234933.A19042@shale.csir.co.za> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Mailer: Mutt 0.89.1i In-Reply-To: <19981103234933.A19042@shale.csir.co.za>; from Jeremy Lea on Tue, Nov 03, 1998 at 11:49:33PM +0200 Organization: Nik at home, where there's nothing going on Sender: owner-freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG On Tue, Nov 03, 1998 at 11:49:33PM +0200, Jeremy Lea wrote: > Something that really concerns me is the Linux advocates myth, > perpetuated by this memo, that FreeBSD is a closed development project. This is message I've been meaning to send out, but I haven't finished it, and other things have got in the way. Should anyone want to pick this up and run with it, please feel free; ========================================================================== I'm thinking of putting together a 'FreeBSD Myths' web page, either on my own site or as part of the FreeBSD site, to dispell some of the myths about FreeBSD, particularly in relation to other OS's. This is prompted (partly) by yet another posting on SlashDot from someone proclaiming that Linux follows the Bazaar development model, while FreeBSD is strictly Cathedral. I think there are a number of these myths out there, and a page or two countering them is probably a good thing. Possibly this might be better served as a 'Myths' section in the FAQ, but I haven't got that far yet. So I'm after myths about FreeBSD. Like the following. Myth: FreeBSD's development model is 'closed'. Only a select few can contribute code. It's 'Cathedral' style, where Linux follows the 'Bazaar' model. Reality: FreeBSD's development model is probably *more* Bazaar than Linux's. * The current, bleeding edge, source code for FreeBSD is available for anyone to download, 24 hours a day. There's no need to wait for someone to roll a release every few days. You can use this source code in conjunction with an existing system to stay up to date. * A snapshot is automatically generated every 24 hours. This snapshot can be installed in the same way as you would install every other released version of FreeBSD. * The CVS tree, with *all* versions of *every* file in the FreeBSD codebase is available for anyone to download, 24 hours a day. * Anyone can submit patches, bug reports, documentation, and so on, either from their FreeBSD machine or using a CGI program on the FreeBSD web site. Anyone can view the current list of these reports (and details) on the web. * Becomming a committer (someone who can make changes to the source tree without needing to submit a patch) typically happens after you've submitted several good patches or shown a willingness to work on an area of the system that's been neglected. Much like Linux. * There's a core team of 12 (?) people who have overall architectural control of where FreeBSD is heading. Just like Linus has overall control of the Linux kernel. Myth: You can't make your own distributions or derivative works of FreeBSD. Reality: Yes you can. You just need to say in the documentation and source files where the code is derived from (see the BSD license for more details). For example, PicoBSD is a tailored distribition of FreeBSD that fits on a floppy. Great for turning a diskless 386 into a router or network print server. Or look at the Whistle Interjet () which uses FreeBSD as the underlying OS in their 'network appliance'. Whistle have contributed many of their enhancements back to the FreeBSD codebase. Myth: FreeBSD makes a great server, but a poor desktop machine. Reality: FreeBSD makes a great server. It also makes a great desktop. The requirements for a server (responsiveness under load, stability, effective use of system resources) are the same requirements for a desktop machine. Myth: The BSD codebase is old, outdated, and dieing. Reality: Myth: You can't do clustering (parallel computers) with FreeBSD. Reality: Myth: There's no commercial support for FreeBSD. Reality: Myth: Linux is better than FreeBSD. Reality: Mu. Myth: FreeBSD is better than Linux. Reality: Mu. -- C.R.F. Consulting -- we're run to make me richer. . . To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message