Alan Shutko wrote:
>
> >>>>> "W" == William T Wilson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
> W> Others say that the OS is supposed to include
> W> all kinds of other things (user interface, window system, applets,
> W> programming libraries, and so on, which are typically provided by
> W> the distribution under Linux).
>
> W> The second flavor is typically adhered to by the Microsoft
> W> marketing department. The rest of the world follows the first
> W> definition.
>
> Um... AmigaOS contained a window system, user interface, applets, and
> system tools. MacOS contained a window system, user interface,
> applets, and system tools. VMS contains a window system, user
> interface, applets, and system tools. SunOS contained a window
> system, user interface, applets, and system tools. OSF/1 contains a
> window system, user interface, applets, and system tools. IRIX
> contains a window system, user interface, applets, and system tools.
> AIX contains a window system, user interface, applets, and system
> tools. HPUX contains a window system, user interface, applets, and
> system tools. Ultrix contained a window system, user interface,
>
I can only talk about MacOS, Linux, Irix, HP-UX, and AIX: the windowing
system in most of these isn't part of the core OS-- It is an important
part of the distribution, but not part of the OS. Applets are just
that-- applets, not (usually) part of the OS. System tools are not part
of the OS. ie: if I write a tool that puts "FREE" across all
initialized memory, and package it with my own distribution of Linux,
then that tool does not magically become part of the OS-- just a tool
that is part of my distribution.
>
> Considering that you couldn't even DO anything with your linux system
> but BOOT without things other than the kernel, how can you claim that
> it is an "Operating" system?
Come on.
So is Gimp part of the Linux "OS"? Is MS WORD part of the MSWindows OS?
c'mon.
I'd almost guarentee that the XFree86 people wouldn't tell you that
their product is an OS component-- It provides an interface to OS
functions. The fact that I can BOOT with my Linux kernel makes it an
OS. Heck, it doesn't even need a UI to qualify as an OS. It just has
to manage the memory, peripherals, and hopefully do something useful to
qualify under a strict definition, which is all anyone can argue anyway.
People in marketing dept at Apple, MS, etc, are the ones that market the
whole package as an "OS" because that's all they, and the masses,
understand. You don't sell someone a "New, Improved Kernel". You sell
them a "New, Improved OS!!!" because chances are that they won't know
the difference.
They won't really tell the world that the kernel is a little newer but
everything else is the same
--
Lane J. Bryson Network Product Analyst
RULDS2 Interphase Corporation, Systems Analysis Group
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