Sean Miller wrote:
> OS-X is a derivative of Unix, not Linux.
>
> The fact that they might appear functionally similar belies the fact
> that Linus created a completely new Operating System.
Hello, Sean.
That's not true - He didn't create a new OS, he created a new OS kernel
using the existing Minix OS as a development system. Minix, in turn, was
modelled on, and is OS system call compatible with V7 Unix. Minix uses a
modern 'micro-kernel'. Andrew Tannenbaum, the author of Minix, was very
critical of the old-fashioned 'monolithic' kernel design of Linux:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/appa.html
Linus used existing Gnu software to compile his kernel, and he used the
existing Gnu utilities to do it. In fact, there is no reason why you
can't run the same developer tools and applications on *any* Posix
compliant system including Cygwin, which provides Posix compatibility
libraries and Gnu applications for M$ Windows. What Linux *did* do was
break the deadlock on Minix development imposed by Andrew Tannenbaum,
who wanted Minix to be runnable from 5.25" floppies on an IBM XT (8086).
There was a 386 version of Minix, but it was not developed much at the
time because of copyright restrictions on the distribution of the Minix
source code. You had to buy Andrew Tannenbaum's book about operating
systems design to get it legally. I was moderator of the comp.os.minix
'patch' archive at Imperial College at the time, and I used Minix-386
until Linux was announced. The reason I mention all this is that it is
important to remember that Linux is 'just' the kernel. Most of the tools
and utilities that people use is Gnu software and this is why the FSF
call it Gnu/Linux (Gnu software + Linux kernel).
I'm not detracting in any way from the massive impact of Linus's work,
but even if he could have done it without using Minix as a development
system, he could never have done it without using Gnu software. It's
equally true that Linux is NOT just a development of Minix, which is now
officially supported on the 386 and is freely available. However, Minix
is likely to be of more interest to people studying computer science
than useful as a practical OS:
http://www.minix3.org/
I think it is important to know about the history of Linux, and to
understand the Unix philosophy of building on the work of others. What
Linux brought into FLOSS was an expert knowledge of 386 page tables and
a kernel that, however inelegant in design, worked extremely well. In
fact it worked so well that an entire industry is now based on it.
Best wishes,
Tony.
--
Dr. A.J.Travis, | mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Rowett Research Institute, | http://www.rri.sari.ac.uk/~ajt
Greenburn Road, Bucksburn, | phone:+44 (0)1224 712751
Aberdeen AB21 9SB, Scotland, UK. | fax:+44 (0)1224 716687
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