Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 10:23:26 +0200 (MET DST) From: Wolfgang Helbig <helbig@Informatik.BA-Stuttgart.DE> To: softweyr@xmission.com (Wes Peters) Cc: sfuqua@pulsar.cs.wku.edu, chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD for Operating Systems Course Message-ID: <199710130823.KAA28485@rvc1.informatik.ba-stuttgart.de> In-Reply-To: <199710130146.TAA08173@obie.softweyr.ml.org> from Wes Peters at "Oct 12, 97 07:46:02 pm"
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> Stephen Fuqua writes: > > I'm writing a short paper as part of my MS comparing BSD with Linux and > > Minix for use in an undergraduate operating systems course. The idea > > would be to compare these systems in terms of using them for a class some > > C programming and some simple kernel programming exercises like adding a > > pseudo device or a "do-nothing" system call, and some code reading. > > > > Have I missed anything, or been unfair anywhere? > > steve fuqua > > At first blush, your summation seems fair. Lets lay it out in table > form and see how they stack up. I'll add any I think of at the end of > the table. You can then apply weighting as you see fit; I'll suggest > some, based on various criteria. > > > Feature FreeBSD Linux Minix > > Small code size * > > Easy install * * > > Software selection * * > > Performance * * > > Textbooks *** * > > Programming languages *** ** > > Wes Peters Softweyr LLC > http://www.xmission.com/~softweyr softweyr@xmission.com Hmm, one issue is still missing here--for me the most important: FreeBSD supplies *buildable* source trees for the kernel (like Linux) *and* userland (unlike Linux) *and* most ports (unlike Linux, since they don't have ports). All source trees are carefully synchronized, easy installable and buildable out of the box. This makes it easy to really see whats going on (or wrong) on your system -- remember: You cannot understand the kernel source without understanding userland source and vice versa. Add easy access to the CVS repository, which lets you browse through previous versions of the source in question all the way back to 4.4BSD Lite. Scrutinizing the logs gives you the opportunity to learn why things are coded the way they are. If all works out as planned, the CVS repository will be supplied with FreeBSD 2.2.5. So I suggest to add Access to source trees *** * * Wolfgang
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