Return to BSD News archive
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.rmit.EDU.AU!news.unimelb.EDU.AU!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!paladin.american.edu!gatech!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!newsie.dmc.com!news.zipnet.net!zip0.zipnet.net!not-for-mail From: radics@zipnet.net (Andras Radics) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: FreeBSD vs Linux Date: 16 Apr 1996 12:49:22 -0400 Organization: ZipCall Internet Services (zipnet.net) Lines: 47 Message-ID: <4l0j2i$dgc@zip0.zipnet.net> References: <4issad$h1o@nadine.teleport.com> <4k4cfa$ava@uriah.heep.sax.de> <3169406A.61F8D18D@gnu.ai.mit.edu> <4kcsjc$ii@dyson.iquest.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: zip0.zipnet.net In article <4kcsjc$ii@dyson.iquest.net>, John S. Dyson <root@dyson.iquest.net> wrote: > ... >It would be STUPID to adopt ELF only to quiet those that >whine > It seemed to me that the only reason Linux switched to ELF is because H.J. Lu unilaterally decided stop providing any further a.out support when ELF became a pet project of his. Ever since the first stable ELF library, GCC has not been available in binary a.out format. Most Linux users have home PC's without have the necessary RAM, disk space, (and skill) to compile the compiler, so the decision was made for them. What follows are the musings of a disillusioned Linux old-timer, and may be safely omitted without loss of continuity :-) Linux being the chaotic system that it is, you can not selectively upgrade an application, because the new code needs the new kernel features which need the new compiler which needs the new binutils which need the new libraries (and, in my case, which needed the new kernel, nicely completing my dilemma.) This is a major drawback of Linux -- the system is so much in flux that any software written may break tomorrow when the kernel, libc, or tools change once again. Standards are interpreted in a narrow legalistic sense rather than as a means to bring stability to the development environment. The direct consequence is that all of your development work is held hostage to the whims of the maintainers of the utilities that you use (unless you're a purist with lots of idle time, use only public-domain code, and maintain all your own tools.) Linux (gcc/libc in particular) has no concept of split stable/beta code. Ongoing development and support seem to exist only for the latest (beta) kernels, either forcing one to fall behind and lack bug fixes and important system features, or to continually install and re-install the latest beta version of all the tools (which sometimes are not fully backward-compatible). The Linux community is an energetic hodge-podge of raw talent, a few very bright, good coders, and lots and lots of chaff. It may yet sort itself out. Personally, after three years of using Linux, I've decided to switch to a saner system. Andras -- /\ Andras Radics \/ radics@zipnet.net