*BSD News Article 11599


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Path: sserve!manuel.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!saimiri.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!menudo.uh.edu!uuneo!sugar!peter
From: peter@NeoSoft.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: WFJ's talk last night...
Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1993 18:03:28 GMT
Message-ID: <C2pJHs.Dsp@sugar.neosoft.com>
References: <C2nHuD.5EC@raistlin.udev.cdc.com> <1m1a0oINN8ds@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM>
Lines: 44

In article <1m1a0oINN8ds@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM> lewy@sun.com writes:
> Q. Request to elaborate on methods for localizing change side-effects.
> A.  Began moving in this direction with 0.2 work:
>     - Moving in the direction of C++.
>     - classes idea for kernel objects

No too much of this yet, I hope. I'd like to have a stable C version
working.

>     - loadable drivers

Any comments on mechanism?

>         stacking filesystems
>                 e.g. stack a compression filesystem with other fs type
>                         to achieve "both"
>     OVERLOAD INTERFACES are WJ's goal for system design

It would be nice to be able to build a filesystem in a regular file
instead of a partition for testing purposes.

>         - idea of portals
>                 are files that are versioned with processes (??)

Sounds like Watchdogs, or the way the Apollo file system worked, or
the way Plan 9 works. A very important generalization.

>         - ability to "export" user code to kernel

Hmmm. Nice for a production system, for experimentation it's probably
better to move responsibility out of the kernel into user processes. The
ideas evoked by the concept of "portals" sound like a step in this
direction.

> *** Only freely modifiable and redistributable code will be put into
>         kernel and libraries.

Is it possible to get a clarification of this phrase? Does WFJ consider
GPL code consistent with this?
-- 
Peter da Silva.  <peter@sugar.neosoft.com>.
 `-_-'   Oletko halannut suttasi tänään?
  'U`    
Tarjoilija, tämä ateria elää vielä.