On Sunday 16 December 2007 06:26:31 pm Mike Miller wrote:
> On Sun, 16 Dec 2007, Josh Paetzel wrote:
> >> What can he do with the Free BSD kernel that he can't do with the Linux
> >> kernel?
> >
> > Probably nothing, and loses all the advantages of running FreeBSD in the
> > first place....namely an OS that's coherently designed and not just some
> > random collection of bits tossed in a sack together.
>
> What is incoherent in Linux that is coherent in FreeBSD?  We must be
> talking about apps or utilities or something.  Are GNU utils incoherent
> compared to FreeBSD utils?
>
> Mike
>

A linux distribution is an independantly developed kernel + a bunch of 
independantly developed 3rd party userland tools + an independantly developed 
package management system + an independantly developed installer released as 
an operating system.

In FreeBSD (and the other BSD projects follow this model as well) the 
installer, package management, userland, and kernel are all developed 
together by the same project.

Take for instance the split in development between gnu libc and the linux 
kernel.  At one point in the past it was a difficult enough situation that 
the linux kernel crowd forked gnu libc so they could maintain their own, and 
only their inability to keep up with feature development sent them back to 
using straight gnu libc.  So you end up in a situation where the linux kernel 
devs criticize gnu libc and vice versa...."You got your chocolate in my 
peanut butter!" and in the ultimate examples of absurdity the distros provide 
a fix! (a doesn't worth with b so x provides a patch)

That's what I mean by FreeBSD having a coherent development model.

-- 
Thanks,

Josh Paetzel

PGP: 8A48 EF36 5E9F 4EDA 5A8C 11B4 26F9 01F1 27AF AECB
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