Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 09:32:54 -0700 From: Darren Wiebe <dkwiebe@heartland.ab.ca> Cc: Jonathon McKitrick <jcm@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org>, questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: General thoughts and questions on FreeBSD Message-ID: <38397036.1F64FFC8@heartland.ab.ca> References: <3835DD2A.5E9751AE@dogma.freebsd-uk.eu.org> <19991122120346.06272@mojave.sitaranetworks.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Greg Lehey wrote: > > [Format recovered--see http://www.lemis.com/email/email-format.html] > > On Friday, 19 November 1999 at 18:28:43 -0500, Jonathon McKitrick wrote: > > A 'hacker' friend of mine who is quite a Unix guru and who loves Linux > > gave FreeBSD a try recently. These were his comments: > > > > > > I *really* dislike the kernel configuration -- enabling/disabling > > features causes the compile to crap out in different areas, so doing > > anything fancy becomes a time-intensive trial-and-error > > job. Awful. > > This sounds like he's run into unusual problems. > > I've discussed this matter with Linux people before; they have some > kind of GUI interface to kernel configuration. I don't like that > idea, since it requires learning Yet Another Interface, but there may > be some advantage in having a configuration file checker. One reason > that we don't is because we're trying to get rid of the configuration > file altogether. Don't ask what we'll have instead; I don't know. > > > And inflexible too; I was not able to select a PCMCIA NIC and a > > normal NIC [yeah, I was just toying around, but what if I had a > > docking station?] without the compile crapping out. > > That's definitely pilot error. He's obviously talking about a laptop > here; maybe he didn't notice the comments about pccard support. > > > And the recommended FP stuff ['use GNU'] caused a kernel panic when > > I rebooted. > > I don't know what he's talking about here. First, he shouldn't need > an FP emulator unless he's running a really old machine. Secondly, > the GNU FP emulator doesn't cause panics. > > > The docs seem more sparse for BSD --no NAG, so LPG, no SAG-- but > > maybe I just never poked around enough. > > Well, I suppose we don't have them. At any rate, I don't know what > these TLAs mean. But then, it's not Linux. Network Administrators Guide and System Administrators Guide. I don't know what the middle one stands for. I have not looked at them for a long time but they came in handy when I set our network up. I have been thinking of modifying them so that they are applicable to FreeBSD, but I am not sure what license they are under, I'll have to see how much spare time I find. > > > A lot of FreeBSD is the same as linux, of course, as linux is > > rather heavily influenced by the BSD camp and they use many of the > > same tools. > > > > I like linux better even thouhg the bsd daemon is cooler ;) Linux > > seems more flexible and seems to be a general unix with enhancements > > --like vim is to vi-- whereas FreeBSD is quirkly like the other > > unixes. For some reason, linux never seemed to have many 'quirks' to > > me [relative to other unixes that is] -- everything is > > straightforward, and the tendency to implement both SysV and BSD > > features means it will act however you expect it to. > > FWIW, I've been doing some work with RedHat Linux lately. To use your > friend's words, > > I like FreeBSD better. FreeBSD seems more flexible and seems to be > a general unix with enhancements --like vim is to vi-- whereas Linux > is quirkly. For some reason, FreeBSD never seemed to have many > 'quirks' to me [relative to other unixes that is] -- everything is > straightforward, and it will act however you expect it to. > > The real answer is in the last phrase, of course: "however you expect > it to". Your friend is used to Linux, and he is comfortable with it. > FreeBSD does some things differently. That causes problems with > FreeBSD for your friend, and problems with Linux for me. > Agreed, I started on Linux and FreeBSD seems a little bit strange when I switched over. However when I boot into Redhat, I have it on a seperate 600mb HD, I am lost. It all depends what you are used to. > > [Disclaimer: Don't take my statements above as being a criticism of > Linux. They're an explanation for why people have difficulties > with other systems once they're comfortable with one]. > > > Of course I like BSD better than SysV [another factor influencing by > > Solaris views], but the SysV init stuff is quite nice.... > > I wouldn't have thought that the System V init stuff would be that > important. We have discussed it several times, and we have > implemented some of it, but the general feeling is that it's not > flexible enough. > > > Any thoughts on his kernel issues? > > Much the same as many people who post here: if you have problems, > please describe in sufficient detail that we have some chance of > addressing them. Obviously these are not typical problems. > > > Those seem to be the only ones that are major issues here. Is > > FreeBSD 'quirky' ? > > As others have commented, that depends on your interpretation of > 'quirk'. > > > And what advantages/disadvantages does FreeBSD kernel configuration > > have compared to Linux ? > > The FreeBSD configuration system is more flexible. It does, > admittedly, offer you the chance to shoot yourself in the foot. It's > like the difference between cutting wood with a handsaw or with a > chainsaw. You can't hurt yourself nearly as much with a handsaw. > > Greg > -- > When replying to this message, please copy the original recipients. > For more information, see http://www.lemis.com/questions.html > Finger grog@lemis.com for PGP public key > See complete headers for address and phone numbers > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?38397036.1F64FFC8>