Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 15:52:09 +1100 (EST) From: Andrew Reilly <reilly@zeta.org.au> To: mike@smith.net.au Cc: perlsta@cs.sunyit.edu, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: your commentary gripe (was Re: svgalib? (forget the newbies) ) Message-ID: <199710300452.PAA05309@gurney.reilly.home> In-Reply-To: <199710292255.JAA02415@word.smith.net.au>
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On 30 Oct, Mike Smith wrote: >> (i hope no one takes offence at this, please badger me and show me where i >> can find stuff to answer this) > > CVS logs. "The Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD Operating > System". -hackers list archive. > >> specifically here's my gripe with FreeBSD and the XFree86 peoples, COMMENT >> YOUR CODE A LITTLE MORE DAMMIT :) > > Are you complaining about FreeBSD code, or legacy CSRG code, or code > from some other source? If you want to undertake to comment all that > old hair that nobody else ever did, please do! > >> it's not just tracing through the code, i know the structure allows for >> such great things as CVSups and other methods of updating the sourcecode, >> but some simple documentation explaining how to not only make code for >> freebsd, but something that is compadible with the structures already in >> place would be nice... > > There is no "simple documentation" because it's not "simple", and the > effort of producing such documentation is pretty monstrous. In most > cases, the code is actually quite bearably followable, and once you > learn your way around the system it only gets better. > > However, if you want to write "BSD Kernel Source for Dummies", go right > ahead... > Not comments, but... I remember a while ago that a (? Japanese ?) guy put up an automatically html'd, cross-referenced, gee whizz version of the FreeBSD sources (and Linux too). That's probably a bit old by now, but if the tool he used is readily available then you could apply it yourself to the current sources. I haven't had much of a look at the FreeBSD kernel code, but on other projects I've found that knowing what the various variables are (you know, the single letter ones), and where they come from is half the battle. -- Andrew "The steady state of disks is full." -- Ken Thompson
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