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Date:      Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:48:29 -0800
From:      perryh@pluto.rain.com
To:        cpghost@cordula.ws
Cc:        Unix.Hacker@comcast.net, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: What are the technical differences between Linux and BSD?
Message-ID:  <4ebf845d.Juuq2%2BmavLhMWmF6%perryh@pluto.rain.com>
In-Reply-To: <CADGWnjU5150p3mszqYZ71Ab%2B41k%2BN=d3_xCfzD=WpbN-Jn-_Dg@mail.gmail.com>
References:  <D66F322D-5B3C-4640-90D3-2C11D6BE1764@gmail.com> <4EBE2D07.8080005@comcast.net> <CADGWnjU5150p3mszqYZ71Ab%2B41k%2BN=d3_xCfzD=WpbN-Jn-_Dg@mail.gmail.com>

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"C. P. Ghost" <cpghost@cordula.ws> wrote:
> On Sat, Nov 12, 2011 at 9:23 AM, Allen <Unix.Hacker@comcast.net> wrote:
> > ...
> > Linux uses System V style Init. It's BASED on SunOS. Linus
> > Torvalds said that when he started working on Linux, his reason
> > for doing so, was that he wanted to run on HIS computer, the
> > same thing he had been using at the University, which, was
> > SunOS. He said his early inspiration for Linux was SunOS.
> >
> > Just because it uses System V init doesn't mean it's actually
> > based on it...
>
> Yes, but I guess that Linus probably used early versions of SunOS 4
> which were not only BSD-based, but also not yet SysV-ied.

If the inspiration for Linux was SunOS, it had to have been one of
SunOS 3.x, SunOS 4.x aka Solaris 1.x, or SunOS 5.x aka Solaris 2.x.

* SunOS 3.x and 4.x are ports of BSD 4.2 and/or 4.3 to Sun hardware.

* SunOS 5.x is a port of System V Release 4 to Sun hardware -- and
  SVR4 was supposed to be the integration of BSD with the AT&T code
  base (although there's wide belief that BSD got the short end of
  the stick).

Either way that leaves Linux as inspired by BSD, directly or
indirectly.

Whatever the inspiration, my understanding is that the detailed
_specification_ came from SysV -- the original Linux having been
Linus' independent reimplementation of the System V Interface
Definition -- and that's the reason for it having used the SysV
initialization approach.



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