Linux-Misc Digest #212, Volume #19 Sat, 27 Feb 99 17:13:17 EST
Contents:
Re: Linux is not even in Windows 9X's class. (jedi)
Re: IBM Far & Away card - was: Re: Red Hat's sick sense of humor (support) (Kyler B.
Laird)
Re: Which HP DeskJet to buy/not to buy? EconoFast mode (Gal Aviel)
Re: domain name reg and IP setup (Rod Roark)
Re: Linux is not even in Windows 9X's class. (William Wueppelmann)
kernel RAID0 performance on EIDE (Tim Moore)
Re: Turning 'ping' off, please help. (Seth Van Oort)
Re: Red Hat's sick sense of humor (support) (Kyler B. Laird)
Re: Linux is not even in Windows 9X's class. (Christopher Browne)
Re: SCO and Linux console problems (Andries Brouwer)
Re: Adaptec 1540/2 SCSI (Andries Brouwer)
Re: More bad news for NT (Harry)
Re: Linux/FreeBSD compatability (Was Re: Best Free Unix? (why FreeBSD?))
(Christopher Browne)
Re: Linux/FreeBSD compatability (Was Re: Best Free Unix? (why FreeBSD?)) (brian
moore)
Re: Looking for a cross-compiler ("Norm Dresner")
Re: Anti-Virus for Linux (Gerald Willmann)
Problem with sound modules ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (jedi)
Crossposted-To: alt.linux,alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: Linux is not even in Windows 9X's class.
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 10:46:19 -0800
On 27 Feb 1999 06:38:24 GMT, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>It detects hard disks, and your video card. However, you have to "help"
>it some with the SCSI, Zip Drives, and sound. Some mice are detected,
>however, it seems that not all serial/ps2 devices are found. This is
>only because Red Hat 5.0 doesn't support PnP (and neither does 5.1 or
>5.2-- however, kernel 2.2.2 has PnP support built-in, I think). Also,
>Red Hat 5.x doesn't "actively" probe like Win9x does when it is installed.
>
>I think that the Linux installation processes _could_ add this feature,
>however, it would be awfully hard to do. Debian implements (well, sort
>of) this type of thing, when it loads modules and finds what will load
>and what doesn't. It tells the modules to probe everything.
>
>It catches my SCSI... but support for my SCSI was real shitty in Kernel
>2.0.33... it wasn't until 2.2.0 or 2.2.1 that I could get my SCSI to
>work (it's a Zip accelerator card using the AHA152x driver). Kernels
>2.0.33-2.0.36 (except 2.0.35, which I didn't try) threw an oops when I
>loaded the SCSI.
>
>Anyway... it'd be nice if an active hardware probe would be set when you
>install Linux. At least, I think it would. Especially with all of the
>"newbies" that are turning to Linux to try it out.
Anything on the PCI bus will be infact detected. Loading of
modules is another matter entirely.
>
>But if that type of support is added-- it's important to _ONLY_ allow that
>in the install process, I think-- it's important to preserve stability and
>relability in the OS. If the detection feature were to take this away---
>well, then, I don't want it. I want an operating system that I can depend
>on, and as it is, Linux would be it.
Yes most definitely. However, it should be a re-runable utility
much like the nicer liloconfig in Slackware. This is one area
where Redhat could take a hint (or some code) from a non-easeofuse
distro.
>
>Sorry for my rambling on and on.
>
> - Mike
>
>
>On Fri, 26 Feb 1999 23:07:54 -0600, Jon Wiest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>> Redhat 5.0 detects all my hardware.
>>
>>
>>What??? Do you *have* any hardware to detect? Oh sure, it get the hard
>>drives right. It did nicely detect my ATI Rage2, which I appreciate. But
>>not my Wacom pad, my modem, my sound card, my IDE Zip, my Voodoo2.
>>
>>Jon
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>--
>=====================================================================
>Michael B. Trausch [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>V: (419) 838-8104 F: (815) 846-9374
>
> "Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that
> curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly."
> - Arnold Edinborough
>
>If you do not have my public PGP key, you are encouraged to obtain it
>from my website at http://www.wcnet.org/~mtrausch/mykey.zip. You need
> to have PGP 5.0i or newer to use the key.
>=====================================================================
>
--
Herding Humans ~ Herding Cats
Neither will do a thing unless they really want to, or |||
is coerced to the point where it will scratch your eyes out / | \
as soon as your grip slips.
In search of sane PPP docs? Try http://penguin.lvcm.com
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Kyler B. Laird)
Subject: Re: IBM Far & Away card - was: Re: Red Hat's sick sense of humor (support)
Date: 26 Feb 1999 19:36:03 GMT
Geoff Allsup <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>On the assumption that this is a genuine request for help and not just a
>troll:
Where did you get the wild idea that it was a
request for help? At what point did I request
help?
The closest I came was mentioning that I'm
willing to pay for support.
>If you've done a full RH 5.2 install on your laptop, pcmcia support should
>be there.
As I said originally:
[...] I do want to know how to install
5.2 with an IBM Home & Away
If I could do a "full RH 5.2 install" then I
wouldn't have this problem.
>If you get that far, you should be in business. If not, post again with a
>subject line more apropo to the problem.
The "problem" remains the same. Red Hat does
not provide "boxed distribution" level support
without all of the inconvenience and waste of
purchasing a boxed distribution.
(The problem that prompted this, however, has
been solved. Hitachi Traveler users should
change the address of their PCMCIA adapters
before trying to install Red Hat Linux. I
figured that out on my own...after tracking
down and purchasing a Red Hat door stop. Now
to see if I can keep it from crashing when I
shut the lid...)
--kyler
------------------------------
From: Gal Aviel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.hardware,comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: Which HP DeskJet to buy/not to buy? EconoFast mode
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 19:54:03 +0000
> > Before sending the file to lp?, send the following PCL command: Esc*o-1M (or
> > the octal sequence: 027 042 111 045 049 077) to put the printer in EconoFast
> > mode.
>
hi guys, this is exactly what I was looking for (how to EconoFast
my hp DeskJet 600) but :
1. how do I actually give the PCL command ?
what do I type at the shell prompt ?
2. is there a way so I won't have to do this for each file ?
something like giving this option once and for all
in say the RH 5.2 printtool of KDE's hp laserjet control center ?
or in some other config file ?
3. do you know where I can get more info on PCL and linux ?
maybe I'll find more good options there, I remember in M$
you had more say on the output quality.
I would greatly appreciate any info from you guys,
thanks !
gal.
------------------------------
From: Rod Roark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.networking,comp.os.linux.help,comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: domain name reg and IP setup
Date: 27 Feb 1999 20:15:23 GMT
PTW <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>...
>The InterNIC requires that your server be up continuously
>in order to maintain the name. They do have an actual
>time that the named site can be down before they suspend
>it.
Um, you don't register a "site" with InterNIC. The only machines
you have to identify to them are the name servers, which will
normally be maintained by your ISP... those have to stay up.
-- Rod
======================================================================
Sunset Systems Preconfigured Linux Computers
http://www.sunsetsystems.com/ and Custom Software
======================================================================
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (William Wueppelmann)
Crossposted-To: alt.linux,alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: Linux is not even in Windows 9X's class.
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 20:10:14 GMT
In our last episode (Thu, 25 Feb 1999 18:57:14 -0800),
the artist formerly known as Ryan Cumming said:
>William Wueppelmann wrote:
>>
>> >>>4. Better gaming platform
>> >>>(shudder)
>> >>
>> >> This is redundant, part of 3 & 4.
>>
>> It also depends on what kind of games you play.
>
>XBill gets old fast. Half-life has a bit more replay value.
But Zork and Nethack are eternal :)
>Are you kidding? Linux veries fmore from one ditrobuion to the next more than
>Windows does from oone version to the next. If you start talking about other
>Unixes, consistency becomes a joke.
To what are you referring when you say consistency, though? I've installed
Slackware, RH and Debian without too much problem (Debian being the
easiest). From what I've observed, they're all similar enough to FreeBSD
as well (having watched a FreeBSD install from start to finish, but not
having actually done one).
The real point is that I only use one Linux distribution, and unless you're
an administrator, you probably won't be installing Linux very often, so
it's not really a daily headache to deal with.
The kind of consistency I'm talking about is internal consistency. Under
Linux, I know that I can try
foo --help
man foo
foo *
foo *.ba[rz]
foo --version
foo | bar
bar | foo
and for most instances of foo, get the information or output I expect
(assuming I know what shell I am using) Faced with an entirely new
interactive program, I can figure out the basic movement and operation keys
99% of the time within two guesses, since most programs will follow vi or
emacs (or both) command conventions. And if I don't like them, I can
probably change them to something that is consistent with my world view.
Plus, and this is probably the biggest one, the data formats generally used
in Unix are open, portable and don't change very often, so there's rarely a
question of whether I can read something you wrote. I can write a LaTeX
document using vi, create a postscript file, and you can print it out on
your printer without having either. Sharing documents between two Windows
users when one has one set of software and one has another (even if it's
just a different version) usually requires prior co-ordination and a
certain level of technical sophistication missing in most Windows users (a
lot of people really don't know how to get their word processors to save
documents in alternative file formats).
--
William
It is pitch black. You are likely to be spammed by a grue.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 11:28:54 -0800
From: Tim Moore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: kernel RAID0 performance on EIDE
Summary
=======
~16MB/s read and write for 120MB contiguous file with software RAID0.
note: 25, 50, 75 & 100MB tests are similar or faster.
Hardware
========
Asus P2B, PII/266 @2.5x133MHz (333MHz)
33MHz PCI bus
128MB memory
onboard EIDE controller
2xIBM-DHEA-36481 (6.4GB), one on ide0, one on ide1
Software
========
linux 2.0.36-3 kernel, RH5.2 base.
Write log
=========
[tim@asus tim]# /usr/bin/time -p dd if=/dev/zero of=/raid/120mb bs=1024
count=122880
122880+0 records in
122880+0 records out
real 7.44
user 0.14
sys 4.60
[tim@asus tim]# ls -l /raid; rm -f /raid/*mb; sync
total 123375
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 125829120 Feb 27 10:26 120mb
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 12288 Feb 27 10:21 lost+found
[tim@asus tim]# echo "125829120/7.44" | bc -q
16912516
[tim@asus tim]# /usr/bin/time -p dd if=/dev/zero of=/raid/120mb bs=1024
count=122880
122880+0 records in
122880+0 records out
real 7.56
user 0.19
sys 4.50
[tim@asus tim]# ls -l /raid ; rm -f /raid/*mb ; sync
total 123375
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 125829120 Feb 27 10:27 120mb
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 12288 Feb 27 10:21 lost+found
[tim@asus tim]# echo "125829120/7.56" | bc -q
16644063
[tim@asus tim]# /usr/bin/time -p dd if=/dev/zero of=/raid/120mb bs=1024
count=122880
122880+0 records in
122880+0 records out
real 7.56
user 0.14
sys 4.44
Read log
========
[tim@asus tim]# /usr/bin/time -p dd if=/raid/120mb of=/dev/null bs=1024
122880+0 records in
122880+0 records out
real 8.01
user 0.15
sys 2.76
[tim@asus tim]# /usr/bin/time -p dd if=/raid/120mb of=/dev/null bs=1024
122880+0 records in
122880+0 records out
real 7.96
user 0.12
sys 2.62
[tim@asus tim]# /usr/bin/time -p dd if=/raid/120mb of=/dev/null bs=1024
122880+0 records in
122880+0 records out
real 7.98
user 0.12
sys 2.37
[tim@asus tim]# !ls
ls -l /raid ; rm -f /raid/*mb ; sync
total 123375
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 125829120 Feb 27 10:28 120mb
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 12288 Feb 27 10:21 lost+found
[tim@asus tim]# echo "125829120/7.98" | bc -q
15768060
hdparm
======
[tim@asus tim]# hdparm -tT /dev/md0 /dev/hd{b,c}6
/dev/md0:
Timing buffer-cache reads: 64 MB in 0.61 seconds =104.92 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 32 MB in 2.05 seconds =15.61 MB/sec
/dev/hdb6:
Timing buffer-cache reads: 64 MB in 0.61 seconds =104.92 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 32 MB in 3.78 seconds = 8.47 MB/sec
/dev/hdc6:
Timing buffer-cache reads: 64 MB in 0.61 seconds =104.92 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 32 MB in 3.78 seconds = 8.47 MB/sec
Setup data
==========
[tim@asus tim]# egrep '_MD.*=y' /usr/src/linux/.config
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_MD=y
CONFIG_MD_LINEAR=y
CONFIG_MD_STRIPED=y
CONFIG_MD_MIRRORING=y
[tim@asus tim]# cat /etc/raidtab
raiddev /dev/md0
raid-level 0 # it's not obvious but this *must
be
# right after raiddev
nr-raid-disks 2
nr-spare-disks 0
chunk-size 8
device /dev/hdb7
raid-disk 0
device /dev/hdc7
raid-disk 1
[tim@asus tim]# fdisk -l /dev/hd{b,c}
Disk /dev/hdb: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 790 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdb1 1 261 2096451 6 DOS 16-bit >=32M
/dev/hdb2 262 789 4241160 5 Extended
/dev/hdb5 262 266 40131 82 Linux swap
/dev/hdb6 267 394 1028128+ 83 Linux native
/dev/hdb7 395 789 3172806 83 Linux native
Disk /dev/hdc: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 790 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdc1 1 261 2096451 6 DOS 16-bit >=32M
/dev/hdc2 262 789 4241160 5 Extended
/dev/hdc5 262 266 40131 82 Linux swap
/dev/hdc6 267 394 1028128+ 83 Linux native
/dev/hdc7 395 789 3172806 83 Linux native
[tim@asus tim]# df -k /dev/md0
Filesystem 1024-blocks Used Available Capacity Mounted on
/dev/md0 6125499 13 6062030 0% /raid
[tim@asus tim]# hdparm -iv /dev/hd{b,c}
/dev/hdb:
multcount = 0 (off)
I/O support = 0 (default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 1 (on)
keepsettings = 0 (off)
nowerr = 0 (off)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 8 (on)
geometry = 790/255/63, sectors = 12692736, start = 0
Model=IBM-DHEA-36481, FwRev=HP6OA20C, SerialNo=SG0SG0K2
Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec Fixed DTR>10Mbs }
RawCHS=12592/16/63, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=28
BuffType=3(DualPortCache), BuffSize=472kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=off
DblWordIO=no, maxPIO=2(fast), DMA=yes, maxDMA=2(fast)
CurCHS=12592/16/63, CurSects=12692736, LBA=yes, LBAsects=12692736
tDMA={min:120,rec:120}, DMA modes: sword0 sword1 sword2 mword0 mword1
mword2
IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:240,w/IORDY:120}, PIO modes: mode3 mode4
/dev/hdc:
multcount = 0 (off)
I/O support = 0 (default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 1 (on)
keepsettings = 0 (off)
nowerr = 0 (off)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 8 (on)
geometry = 790/255/63, sectors = 12692736, start = 0
Model=IBM-DHEA-36481, FwRev=HP6OA20C, SerialNo=SG0SG0K4
Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec Fixed DTR>10Mbs }
RawCHS=12592/16/63, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=28
BuffType=3(DualPortCache), BuffSize=472kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=off
DblWordIO=no, maxPIO=2(fast), DMA=yes, maxDMA=2(fast)
CurCHS=12592/16/63, CurSects=12692736, LBA=yes, LBAsects=12692736
tDMA={min:120,rec:120}, DMA modes: sword0 sword1 sword2 mword0 mword1
mword2
IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:240,w/IORDY:120}, PIO modes: mode3 mode4
[end]
--
[Replies: make the double y a single]
"Everything is permitted. Nothing is forbidden."
WS Burroughs.
------------------------------
From: Seth Van Oort <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Turning 'ping' off, please help.
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 20:12:33 +0000
If your kernel is 2.1 or newer, you can go into net/ipv4/icmp.c and
change the variable
sysctl_icmp_echo_ignore_all to 1 where it's defined, and recompile.
Seth
"Chad M. Townsend" wrote:
>
> If I _do not_ want my computers to return a ping (besides turning them off)
> how to I disable ping?
>
> -chad
>
> -----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
> http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Kyler B. Laird)
Subject: Re: Red Hat's sick sense of humor (support)
Date: 26 Feb 1999 19:18:07 GMT
Steve Salgo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>You can buy RH5.2 at Best Buy for $32. I assume the reg number is in
>the box but I haven't bought it.
So let me make sure I have this straight...
I'm the only one here who thinks it's silly to
have to drive to another town (the closest Best
Buy is in Indy, ~1 hour away) to pay for a
boxed set of Red Hat Linux just so that I can
get the registration number to give to Red Hat
so that they'll answer my question?
Someone already mentioned that after all of
the costs for the distribution are considered,
there's probably only about $5 left to provide
support. Doesn't it seem strange that Red Hat
isn't willing to take *$50* directly from me
in exchange for support?
--kyler
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Crossposted-To: gnu.misc.discuss,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: Linux is not even in Windows 9X's class.
Date: 26 Feb 1999 20:51:17 GMT
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
On 26 Feb 1999 11:57:00 -0700, Craig Kelley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher B. Browne) writes:
>
>> Actually, it gets asked enough that it's worth publicizing.
>
>Agreed.
>
>> A monolithic kernel (which Linux is implemented as) is one where the
>> entirety of the kernel is one big program.
>
>Wellllll, what are modules then?
They're not separate processes, as is the case of MkLinux + Mach or Hurd
daemons + Mach.
But I certainly agree that they "buy you" much of the benefits that
microkernels are supposed to provide.
>Strictly speaking, Linux *is* a monolithic kernel -- but the
>modularization gives it many of the supposed benefits of a microkernel
>without the jaunting overhead.
Yes.
>> A microkernel takes the approach of writing a little bitty
>> "executive," and then running the rest of what would be (in
>> monolith-world) the OS kernel as processes atop the microkernel.
>
>And in practice, the executive runs only one server (even if it is
>capable of doing otherwise). Look at Qnx, Minix3 and even Windows NT
>(which is technically *not* a microkernel since version 4).
See other posting; one of the things much talked about a couple years
ago was the notion of running multiple servers.
IBM's Workplace OS was supposed to provide multiple "personalities"
(notably UNIX, OS/2, and analogues to OS/400, OS/390, and it appears
something vaguely like PalmOS) and it is *not* a stretch to expect some
of 'em to coexist. After all, TSO, VM/CMS, and IMS environments (and I
could be off a bit in my terminology; I am *NOT* an expert in mainframe
processing!) coexist on the same hardware...
There has been some comment, on occasion about the notions of
simultaneously hosting:
- MkLinux and Hurd
- MkLinux and BSD Lites
- MkLinux and Rhapsody
with, for the most part, a whole lot of handwaving, and very little
investigation of realistic feasibility or usefulness.
It would be interesting to see MkLinux and Hurd coexist, and that could
conceivably have some usefulness. Indeed, if Hurd was to eclipse
Linux, I would think it likely that the process would almost certainly
need to include a transition period of a "coexistence" of this sort,
where binary compatibility would be of some value.
On the other hand, the Debian Hurd efforts suggest a
more-likely-to-be-useful approach, which is to make some changes to the
trio of [dpkg, Debian Linux base tools, and Debian Hurd base tools] so
as to make it easy to take Linux software and 'trivially' port it over
to Hurd.
The Brave GNU World would be a mere recompile away, and this wouldn't
require that you consume memory space and other resources to host *two*
OS server sets...
--
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which
differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are
even incapable of forming such opinions." (Albert Einstein)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/oses.html>
------------------------------
Crossposted-To: comp.unix.sco.misc
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Andries Brouwer)
Subject: Re: SCO and Linux console problems
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 21:11:08 GMT
"Peter Caffin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
: When I telnet or rlogin from my Linux box to a SCO box, there are
: problems with the screen handling (eg, in vi, a scroll downwards only
: shifts the bottom row; it doesn't shift the rows above) and there
: are also problems the other way around..
So you have a bad termcap/terminfo entry.
This sounds precisely like what you would get when using a
termcap entry for a 24-line terminal (like vt100) for a
25-line terminal (like the default Linux console).
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Andries Brouwer)
Subject: Re: Adaptec 1540/2 SCSI
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 21:20:00 GMT
Paul Farber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
: I compiled SCSI support into the kernal and selected the adaptec 154X
: driver for my scsi card.
: Everything boot fine until it detects the scsi card, then the process
: hangs.
: The scsi card is found (the proper IO. IRQ, DMA etc is diplayed) and it
: shows 1 device found, but the boot process stops at that point.
: Any advice?
Sounds as if the detection of your Adaptec went just fine
and the problem is with the next device. Perhaps an ethernet card?
------------------------------
From: Harry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: More bad news for NT
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 13:02:38 -0500
> Nt's performance is garbage. I have used both Linux and NT and
there is no comparison. Linux vs. NT is Evander Hollyfield vs. d
your grandmother.<ilG:so much so that I downgraded to fix it. It wa
NT outperforms Linux on graphically-oriented applications. This d
is because NT's graphics drivers were moved to kernel mode with d
NT 4. Linux outperforms NT on non graphically-oriented o
applications. Did Bill Gates insult you personally? You seem to d
have a hatred of NT that goes beyond reason and blinds you to the
facts. (D:no comparison. Linux vs. NT is Evander Hollyfield vs. you
Harry.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Crossposted-To: comp.unix.advocacy,comp.unix.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Linux/FreeBSD compatability (Was Re: Best Free Unix? (why FreeBSD?))
Date: 26 Feb 1999 20:51:19 GMT
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
On 26 Feb 1999 19:28:17 GMT, Robert Sexton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Before Linux arrived, many of us were using this terrific software
>from the GNU project. Most of the software was better than what came
>out of the box with a commercial UNIX. BSD was a bit of an exception
>on this front, because it evolved an improved faster than most of the
>purely commercial flavors. But I digress. One of the most wonderful
>things about the GNU stuff was that it was portable. Portable down
>deep. The kind of portable that comes from thinking that way from the
>outset. Its not even all that hard. You just have to code with it in
>mind.
An area in which the FSF has been exemplary beyond almost any other
organization is in encouraging the production of portable code. I've
run a fair bit of it on systems that definitely weren't much like UNIX.
And, as you correctly note, there is a fair chunk of software "written
for Linux" much as commented on in the .signature below that quite
unnecessarily directs itself "to Linux."
A lot of people "found Linux," got distributions that made it easy to
install, and wrote software that was, regrettable, all too
Linux-specific.
I would contend that it is *not* fair to say that this tendancy is
inherent or likely to continue. Consider that:
- Many public projects are *not* Linux-specific. GNOME and KDE being
highly publicized examples. They are *NOT* targeting Linux specificity.
If there's no-one trying to run GNOME on DG/UX, that may mean that it
won't take into consideration DG/UX issues; there are nonetheless users
of GNOME and KDE on various platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, and
Solaris (just to name platforms I recall seeing referenced).
- Some projects are targeting improved portability.
Most notable, to my mind, is GLIBC 2.
The more egregarious non-portable constructs came either from using
kernel-specific features, or from the Linux-specific things put into
libc4 and libc5; the move towards libc6 aka GLIBC 2, which seeks
standards compliance, should assist considerably with this.
Obviously the use of things in /usr/include/linux will hinder
portability; eliminating the need for that is one of the goals of GLIBC
2.
While there may be a few unfriendly characters that deliberately want to
do a sort of "vendor-lock" to force you to use Linux, the tendancies are
not generally in that direction.
The projects I've worked on as well as those that I've monitored have
often been somewhat Linux-specific; few look askance if someone wants to
join in and do an HP/UX port, and if making that easier requires making
the software more portable, I haven't yet heard disagreement on it...
--
[In response to deprecations of the use of <linux/*.h>] ...I prefer code
that only compiles on Linux... I really don't care to help other
operating systems grow. -- Albert D. Cahalan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/lsf.html>
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (brian moore)
Crossposted-To:
comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.advocacy,comp.unix.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Linux/FreeBSD compatability (Was Re: Best Free Unix? (why FreeBSD?))
Date: 27 Feb 1999 21:24:49 GMT
On 27 Feb 1999 12:10:33 -0800,
david parsons <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> It's easier to get to the information that it is if that information
> is only in a system call. If all the kernel information is locked
> up behind a system call, it's somewhat difficult to get at it from
> a shellscript.
Indeed, and especially with the One True Editor, 'cat'. :)
> Of course, Linux also DOESN'T have a devfs in the mainline kernel
> because the core team thinks that having the kernel accurately
> report devices is icky.
You mean like Solaris's /devices directories? Icky is too nice for that
mess.
--
Brian Moore | "The Zen nature of a spammer resembles
Sysadmin, C/Perl Hacker | a cockroach, except that the cockroach
Usenet Vandal | is higher up on the evolutionary chain."
Netscum, Bane of Elves. Peter Olson, Delphi Postmaster
------------------------------
From: "Norm Dresner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Re: Looking for a cross-compiler
Date: 27 Feb 1999 21:26:55 GMT
javierlt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in article
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> Andy Smith wrote:
> >
> > On Sat, 27 Feb 1999 12:46:14 +0000, javierlt
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > >I�m looking for a cross-compiler for C++
> > >Any help will be apreciated.
> > >
> > >Thanks
> > >
> > >--
> > >for answer leave xxx in my email
> >
> > And wich platform would you like to target?
> >
> > -Andy-
>
> OpenLinux in an intel pc (pentium)
>
> Thanks
>
And which platform do you want it to run on?
Norm
------------------------------
From: Gerald Willmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Anti-Virus for Linux
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 13:21:41 -0800
On 27 Feb 1999, James R. Bunch wrote:
> On Intel platforms you still have to be carefull of BSI's since they get
> to the machine _before_ the OS loads. They can do a good job of clobbering
> lilo. Probably the highest risk systems are those that dual-boot linux and
> DOS/WinXX.
how exactly do the get to the boot sector before linux boots ???
or did you mean dual-boot systems are the only ones at risk ???
Gerald
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Problem with sound modules
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 19:08:00 GMT
I am using RH5.2 with kernel 2.2.2, and have an Ensoniq Soundscape
Board. I ran sndconfig to set it up, and got the following error when
it tried to play the sample sound:
/lib/modules/2.2.2/misc/sscape.o:
init_module: Device or resource busy
sound: Device or resource busy
I am sure that all of the IRQ, DMA, I/O's are correct, and I am not
running X at the time. What is causing this problem, and how do I fix
it?
Any help is appreciated
------------------------------
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