Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 18:22:27 -0600 (MDT) From: Wes Peters - Softweyr LLC <softweyr@xmission.com> To: fass@pitnet.net Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Linux vs FreeBSD. Message-ID: <199708070022.SAA26973@xmission.xmission.com> In-Reply-To: <33E90AD2.952@pitnet.net> from "Jerry Fass" at Aug 6, 97 04:37:55 pm
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> I am new to the Net, 1 month now.
> I am researching getting a new OS for a computer.
>
> I have read many neat things about Linux,
> but almost nothing about FreeBSD, except at your site.
> I have a friend who uses and recommends FreeBSD,
> but other people say Linux is best.
>
> I studied www.freebsd.org a few times,
> for an hour or so total.
>
> I found no comparisons of Linux vs FreeBSD.
>
> Can you tell me where I can find such comparisons?
> Can someone knowledgable post such to your site?
This has been beaten to death many times in the past. Go back to the
FreeBSD web site and look for the mail archives. Search for Linux
in there, and you will find VOLUMES. Keep in mind that much of this
is written by FreeBSD fans, and some of it in response to flames by
people from the Linux world.
> I don't mean to sound picky, but,
> I am uninterested in the empty assertions and name-calling,
> that comprise so much of what is on the Net.
>
> Useful comparisons must be clear, And quantitative,
> comparing features, And performance.
>
> Lastly, in my 1 month on the Net, I've learned
> that most email goes unanswered.
> Could you at least let me know if you got this?
Perhaps your 1 month on "the Net" isn't a large enough sampling for
you to make these assumptions. Perhaps your statements will convince
readers of this and other mail lists to dismiss you as yet another
smart-ass newbie who isn't worth bothering with. I suggest that in
the future you send out your requests, hope for the best in response,
and TRY NOT TO INSULT THE PEOPLE YOU ARE ASKING FOR HELP!
Now, for my quick comparison of FreeBSD and Linux:
Linux is a cool UNIX-like OS written by a guy who liked minix, a
smaller cool UNIX-like OS written for a text book. Linus wrote Linux
because he didn't like the limitations of minix.
FreeBSD is based on 4.4 BSD, which is the latest in the line of
research operating systems from UC Berkeley, the parent of most
commercial UNIX systems in the world in one way or another.
---
Linux is an OS kernel; various organizations group the kernel with
various collections of user tools like shells, text editors, etc.
and call this a "release." Thus, we have quite a number of different
Linux "systems", none of which are really a "system." It's like buying
a car kit and building your own car.
Linux dude: I've got the 2.01.43 kernel using ELF with the FooWare
1.27.12 distribution and libc 4.17.28. Why doesn't XYZedit work?
Car dude: I've got an 88 Mustang with a 67 Chevy 327, a Carter
450AFB carb, and a Borg-Warner 4 speed tranny and a Spicer 9"
diffy. Why can't I bolt any of them together?
FreeBSD is released by a "core team" in finite releases: the OS kernel,
all of the utilities, the system configuration, major applications,
all are released at the same time. They all come from the same team
and the cohesiveness is much higher.
---
Linux supports more different PC hardware, and there is a *lot* of
different PC hardware out there.
FreeBSD has more limited hardware support, but not much more limited.
Most devices for which a Linux device driver is available in SOURCE
CODE get adopted into FreeBSD fairly quickly; for somebody who knows
FreeBSD drivers, building a FreeBSD driver from a Linux driver is
a straightforward task. The same is true of drivers from NetBSD and
OpenBSD.
Linux is a cool operating system; if it fits your needs better, you
are lucky that it exists. For those of us who use FreeBSD, we feel
it is "better" in a number of ways, many of which are intangible.
FreeBSD generally has the fastest, most reliable, and most stable
TCP/IP network support of ANY version of UNIX, including the large
commercial systems.
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
http://www.xmission.com/~softweyr softweyr@xmission.com
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