[wplug] kernels

[Bill Moran]

Jonathan S Billings <billings at negate.org> wrote:

> Chris Romano wrote:
> > Because the list is so quiet today, I will throw this out to everyone
> > to see what they think.  I have been thinking about this lately.
> > 
> > Will kernels become interchangable?  The next version of Novell's
> > server OS will include the netware kernel and the linux kernel.  With
> > the BSDs working on running Linux apps, and the possibility of Sun
> > opening up Solaris, that list could grow.  Will you be able to
> > download the Distro of choice and pick the kernel that you want?  So
> > all the apps stay the same but just different kernels?
> > 
> > Chris Romano
> 
> While it would be nice to be able to pick and choose your kernel, a lot 
> of the non-kernel userland utilities and OS components are tied to your 
> kernel.  For example, what is the name of the first partition on your 
> first IDE disk?  /dev/hda1?  /dev/ad0s1a?  Even within linux, there are 
> significant differences enough that the userland tools are not 
> compatible between major kernel releases.
> 
> I think it's a neat idea, but it would be technically difficult to do. 
> I've seen some attempts to replace all GNU parts of the OS with BSD 
> tools, because of RMS politics, and it isn't a simple task.

There's been a lot of effort to reduce BSD's dependency on GNU stuff
as well.  One of the more glaring requirements is GCC, and there are
projects in the works to make the FreeBSD kernel compile under ICC, as
well as the TenDRA project, which is trying to replace GCC with a BSD
licensed compiler.

My point is to agree that it's a BIG job!

-- 
Bill Moran
Potential Technologies
http://www.potentialtech.com