Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2020 14:42:46 -0300 From: Mario Lobo <lobo@bsd.com.br> To: "freebsd-questions@freebsd.org" <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Why does FreeBSD not use the Linux kernel? Message-ID: <CA%2ByoEx-xY5DsaVZrNAoCmVtcPkgJxbsCyk8nWso9WWZdy5zbug@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <20200617141857.b208232a.freebsd@edvax.de> References: <3a48ab1ab198c330400be3e942f921f2cd3c3e11.camel@tom.com> <20200617141857.b208232a.freebsd@edvax.de>
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On Wed, Jun 17, 2020 at 9:19 AM Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> wrote:
> On Wed, 17 Jun 2020 11:33:25 +0800, kindu smith wrote:
> > Why does FreeBSD not use the Linux kernel? The structure of FreeBSD is
> > very good, such as the startup and directory structure, and the user
> > island program. The only shortcoming is poor hardware support. This is
> > mainly due to the lack of drivers provided by the kernel.
>
> While there are certain basic drivers in the kernel, the
> majority of drivers is provided by loadable kernel modules,
> either developed by the FreeBSD team itself, or available
> from the ports collection. They use interfaces provided by
> the kernel.
>
> NB: Terminus technicus: "userland". :-)
>
>
>
> > The Linux
> > kernel is assisted by developers around the world. Changing to the
> > Linux kernel can make up for this shortcoming. For the system
> > architecture, package management pkg, and user island programs can
> > still use the original FreeBSD.
>
> But in fact, that wouldn't be FreeBSD anymore.
>
> When we say "Linux", we usually refer to a "GNU/Linux distribution",
> which means the Linux kernel + GNU userland + preinstalled and
> preconfigured packages, depending on the distribution's choice.
> The problem that occurs when FreeBSD is deprived of the FreeBSD
> kernel and it is replaced by the Linux kernel is that the result
> is no longer FreeBSD: It's a something/Linux. That "something"
> would be... yes, what would it be? FreeBSD userland that no
> longer works because the Linux kernel is not compatible?
>
> By the way, there was (is?) a GNU/kFreeBSD project where a GNU
> userland is combined with a FreeBSD kernel. Interesting, isn't
> it? Assuming that the FreeBSD kernel is so "inferior"... ;-)
>
>
>
> > Among the unix-like systems, the most popular except macos is ubuntu.
> > This does not mean that ubuntu is good enough.
>
> In my opinion, it is _exactly_ the proof that Ubuntu is good
> enough. :-)
>
>
>
> > It is still very poor
> > compared to archlinux and other distros.
>
> Depends. Arch Linux is not designed for novice users primarily.
> While it offers a Linux experience that is, more or less, quite
> comparable to a UNIX experience, it's not what "Joe Q. Sixpack"
> would expect - "too complicated"; this is where Ubuntu delivers
> a much more welcoming experience.
>
>
>
> > But it is still the most
> > popular because it takes a road from users, servers, to the cloud.
>
> FreeBSD is a multi-purpose operating system; it is _one_ OS to
> be used in appliances, desktops, laptops, servers, VMs ("cloud
> instances"), and you don't have to choose a different "distribution"
> if you want to move from one field of application to the other.
> In my experience, only the "lower level Linusi" offer such a
> wide range of possibilities, while "advanced Linusi" are already
> taylored to fit exactly one of those fields mentioned above.
> So the Ubuntu that you run on your home laptop is hardly suitable
> to run as a "cloud instance" to process heavy database load.
>
>
>
> > That
> > is to first increase the user's utilization rate, then increase the
> > popularity, and then seek the popularity of the server and cloud
> > fields.
>
> Isn't that basically the same way FreeBSD also goes?
>
>
>
> > I think the reason why FreeBSD has reduced the number of users is
> > because it does not take care of the experience of ordinary users, and
> > it takes the opposite path from a server, cloud to users.
>
> As I mentioned, this doesn't seem to be the case. However, you
> can hardly tell anything about the number of people who use
> FreeBSD. It's quite possible that the Linux system you're using
> that the moment on your home PC (assumption) connects to the
> Internet using a device that runs FreeBSD - and you don't know
> about it! So it's quite possible (but cannot really be proven)
> that the "usage share" (derived from "market share") is much
> higher than one might think.
>
> As with any operating system, users and admins are involved.
> Especially admins choose FreeBSD for specific reasons, and
> if you ask for those reasons, they can explain them in a
> technical way, rather than just "No Sir, I don't like it.",
> and sometimes they will choose FreeBSD over Linux for valid
> reasons. They do so because they judge from a technical point
> of view, instead of looking at the shiny packaging paper. :-)
>
>
>
> > Positioning
> > such an excellent operating system as just server usage has greatly
> > reduced its popularity.
>
> Again, I don't think this is correct. FreeBSD has been
> positioned for decades as a multi-purpose OS, and has been
> in use as such for many many years.
>
> Trying to simply exchange the kernel doesn't lead anywhere,
> I would say.
>
>
>
> --
> Polytropon
> Magdeburg, Germany
> Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
> Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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Poly;
Your politeness, articulation and reasoning commands agreement.
+1 to everything you said.
--
Mario Lobo
http://www.mallavoodoo.com.br
FreeBSD since version 2.2.8 [not Pro-Audio.... YET!!]
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