From owner-freebsd-questions Thu Dec 2 8:56:36 1999 Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from cis.ohio-state.edu (mail.cis.ohio-state.edu [164.107.115.5]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id AE34014D07 for ; Thu, 2 Dec 1999 08:56:29 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from cmcurtin@cis.ohio-state.edu) Received: from gold.cis.ohio-state.edu (cmcurtin@gold.cis.ohio-state.edu [164.107.112.16]) by cis.ohio-state.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id LAA06476; Thu, 2 Dec 1999 11:53:51 -0500 (EST) Received: (from cmcurtin@localhost) by gold.cis.ohio-state.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id LAA02848; Thu, 2 Dec 1999 11:53:51 -0500 (EST) To: Martin Horcicka Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, misc@openbsd.org, netbsd-users@netbsd.org Subject: Re: Why so many BSDs? References: X-Face: L"IcL.b%SDN]0Kql2b`e.}+i05V9fi\yX#H1+Xl)3!+n/3?5`%-SA-HDgPk9uTk<3dv^J5DCgal)-E{`zN#*o6F|y>r)\< Date: 02 Dec 1999 11:53:50 -0500 In-Reply-To: Martin Horcicka's message of "Tue, 30 Nov 1999 08:27:11 +0100 (MET)" Message-ID: Lines: 52 X-Mailer: Gnus v5.6.45/XEmacs 21.1 - "20 Minutes to Nikko" Sender: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.ORG >>>>> On Tue, 30 Nov 1999 08:27:11 +0100 (MET), >>>>> Martin Horcicka said: Martin> the thing I've never understood is why you are developing Martin> three BSD systems separately - well, they are not too separate Martin> because if one system implements a thing the other two will Martin> probably port it. There are so many BSDs for the same reason that there are so many types of hammers. There are tack hammers for little jobs, sledge hammers for breaking stuff, framing hammers, drywall hammers, etc. The need for OSes like MacOS vs BSD is as obvious as the need for tack hammers vs. sledge hammers. When you get into areas that have greater areas of overlap, it becomes a bit obvious. In this area, we have the various BSDs. The issue is the same: focus. FreeBSD comes from a group that initially maintained focus on a high-quality BSD operating system for the IA32 architecture. NetBSD comes from a group that is focused on portability. OpenBSD comes from a group more closely focused on security. If you know how to use one, you have a pretty good idea how to use them all, just as knowing how to use the typical 16 oz hammer will give you a pretty good clue how to use the 22 oz framing hammer. But if you have a specific need, you might find that one satisfies that need a bit better than the other. Which BSD I use -- and even which OS I use -- isn't consistent for every job. Approach your needs with the mind of an engineer: articulate your requirements, catalog your options, and make an intelligent decision to use the one that will satisfy your needs the best. My environments are almost never any single OS. At home, I use IRIX, Solaris, OpenBSD, and FreeBSD. Which is in use depends on the purpose of the machine. Wouldn't it be better if we all work together? Well, assuming that we don't work together is really a mistake. Just because we fly different banners and focus on different areas, we hold in common many of the same higher-order objectives, which include sharing information and providing free access to source code. As such, by helping one project, you help them all. The "one size fits all" mentality that permeates mainstream computing is really the backward way of looking at things. It's strange how no one seems to criticize Microsoft for for having so many versions of Windows. The fact that there is WindowsN'T, Windoze 9x, and WinCE, aside from demonstrating other things, is further support of our assertion that the "one size fits all" view is unworkable. -- Matt Curtin cmcurtin@interhack.net http://www.interhack.net/people/cmcurtin/ To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message