> > The Hurd is supposed to be source-compatibible with Linux. If a source > > package can not be built on the Hurd it's because of a bug in the Hurd > > or a bug in the source (if we call non-portability a bug). > > I would tend to call non-portability a bug. I would rather see applications > modified for generality (using autoconf, for instance) than see Hurd's > design altered to fit the applications.
Unfortunately non-portability is a bug that the programmer usually can't test (as they only have one system). =) > > Since Debian GNU/Linux and Debian GNU/Hurd use the same libraries, > > glibc2, etc, this should in principle be not too hard to achieve. The > > main problems are ... well, what are they? > > /dev access springs to mind. Perhaps we could have a linux-dev server that > faked the popular Linux devices? This would be what I would vote for. I feel that both /dev and /proc really aren't that great, /proc is nice for users but things move and change format so often that it breaks all sorts of programs. > > In that case you could release a single CD image for both, perhaps > > with the installation tool asking whether you want Linux or the Hurd > > as your kernel. > > I must admit that I do like that idea; I just think it would be too hard to > do without causing performance problems. As I understand it, Hurd and Linux > are different enough that this could cause problems --- and who'd want to > run everything under emulation? Plus, you'd have some packages that would be > Hurd-specific, taking advantage of Hurd features, and those wouldn't run > under Linux. > > However, the "Which kernel would you like to use?" install question does > seem terribly attractive. You could even install both, so you can pick from > your GRUB prompt... > I like this idea too, but I think that the Hurd project (I try not to say *we* since all I have done so far is planned to write code, not contribute anything) needs to get more developers and to get things like PPP working before this is an option. Besides binary compatibility problems, they would also require changes to the filesystem structure (no /usr required for Hurd, etc.). Translators would not work in Linux, etc. -David Waite
