Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 16:17:01 +1100 From: Harry Woodward-Clarke <Harry.Woodward-Clarke@S1.com> To: pini0n <pini0n@brokenmachine.org> Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Question regarding FreeBSD and Linux Message-ID: <3887EBCD.4B892C3A@S1.com> References: <000501bf63c9$5d59b640$46200304@dsl.gtei.net>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
G'day, > > How similar are linux and FreeBSD? > > Im running Slackware 7 w/out a GUI like X or KDE, and so am curious as > to how similar the directory structures are, commands, etc. Itll be > another week or two before Im able to install it, so, I thought Id get a > heads up on now on how similar the experience will be. > Ok. From a 'shell' level, very. On both there are all the usual shells available (csh, sh, bash, zsh, ksh, etc.), most of the same commands (e.g. who, finger, ping, traceroute, etc.), all the usual 'unixy' stuff. And under you own user directory you can create your own tree as you would on any other unix system. Now, within the System directories things get a little different. Caveat, my experience so far has been with fBSD-2.2.8. I'm in the process of going to 3.3, but not there as yet. So, with that in mind, there may be (most likely are) some differences with the later fBSD that I will have 'wrong'. For me, I dislike the SystemV/Linux useage of the /etc/rc.d.<n> directories to control "run-levels". I prefer everything in the rc files in /etc - it's all there, and you either run single user mode, or you run multi-user mode. No, Single with X, multi without X, multi with X, all that stuff - I'm a simple Analyst, let's keep it simple. I like that in BSD. I find, for me, the comfort of having a central team QA the releases (ok, bugs still slip through, they're only human, processes break down :'), and I can be pretty sure that all that is released in a "version" of FreeBSD will actually work on that version. Without having to upgrade this obscure library from here, there or somewhere else. The order and the control is comforting for someone from a "real" Operating System environment. The chaos in the Linux world is great for others. They enjoy having completely unique configurations - I tried it, and decided that it just 'wasn't me'. Either is an excellent way for you to break the shackles of 'the evil empire'. Either is a great way to learn to drive Unix, and even program in that environment. There are many many similarities that to non-techo would make them ask "what's the difference?". Under the hood there are some very real differences - for example, FreeBSD performs considerably better under load, making it more suited to 'server' situations. Linux has more 'bleeding edge' "toys" (e.g. it had VMware first), and that appeals to some. Me, I like the rock-solid stability, the great performance, and the elegant way the system files are layed out. But, I am also almost as equally at home on one of my collegue's Linux machine - once you know what the differences are in the directory structures. All of the above is my opinion, and may change at any time :') haxxa 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?3887EBCD.4B892C3A>