Re: Wanting opinions...

["Bryan J. Smith <b.j.smith@ieee.org>" <thebs413@earthlink.net>]

From: NZG <ngustavson@emacinc.com>
> Not really, Linux supports MMUless arch's BSD does not.
> That's a big chunk right there.  (ARM7, Coldfire)

Whoa!  Whoa!  Whoa!

Linux does _not_ support MMUless CPUs.
In fact, Linus designed Linux to _explicitly_require_ MMUs.
This was a staple of Tannebaum's gripe in the design on Linux.

Now uCLinux (microcontroller Linux) does!
But it's a _different_ development and focus.

So if you're going to throw uCLinux into the mix, let's get dirty.
There are a wealth of BSD forks out there, including VxWorks which
_still_ gives Linux quite a bit of marketshare competition.

> Going back ,you are correct. That was never explicitly said.
> But the tone of the article was how terrible Linux was, and how
> great BSD was.

You're reading _way_too_much_ into everything.
Especially Theo's comments on lawsuits.

> I thought the implication was obvious since they didn't bother to
> mention in what areas BSD was superior, but just made a lot of
> vague global statements.
> Now if the BSD crowd is willing to back off and admit that they do
> not have the same hardware base, as you have just done, and
> admit they they cannot replace Linux in a lot of situations, then I
> agree.

And I'm telling you there are a _lot_ of BSD variants that do.
It's all how you want to define the context of a platform.
If you're going to bring of uCLinux, then any BSD-based is game IMHO.

> They don't support MMU-less processors. I am taking about
> uController applications, and there are a lot more in the woods
> these days than PIC's.  You are also ignoring RTOS support.

No, you are!  You can't start pulling in all sorts of Linux variants
without doing the same with BSD.  Not an apples-to-oranges
comparison.

> Linux has got RTAI with Adeos support, and the fully preemptive
> mainstream kernel isn't far off.

It's still a bunch of hacks compared to a true microkernel.  I prefer
the RT/Linux pre-emptive approach than a truly re-entrant kernel.
Linus' design is great for general use.  But I don't really like the
RTAI approach compared to RT/Linux, or a BSD-base like VxWorks.

> Neither do I, if I could use them effectively, I would.

You are apparently very narrow-minded in your comparisons.
But given how you lacked some knowledge, history and options,
I can't blame why you came to your conclusions.

In reality, when you're talking real-time, I'm sorry, the hardware
support is "still growing" for RT/Linux compared to VxWorks.  Sure,
I have more "consumer" grade hardware, but RT/Linux is just
getting more "option" level support for traditional VxWorks vendors.

Try to pick a context and stick with it.  Apparently you leave it
wide open for Linux, but narrow-minded for all BSD options.


--
Bryan J. Smith   mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org


-
To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@silug.org with
"unsubscribe silug-discuss" in the body.