Re: [tlug] BSD and Linux (was:Linux and Windows {2k|Xp|Vista}

[<stephen@example.com>]

burlingk@example.com writes:

 > Will the kernel even boot by itself?

Well, you need an appropriate MBR and a 2d stage bootloader; modern
Linux kernels will *not* boot without a loader.  (It used to be
possible to dd the kernel into sectors 0-NNNN of a floppy and boot.)

 > I mean, what would it do if there was not at least a shell?

Run XEmacs.  A friend of mine who was a true fanatic once installed a
Linux kernel (an early 1.3 IIRC) with a statically-linked XEmacs 19
named /sbin/init, and booted directly into XEmacs.

If you think about it a little, you'll realize that (modulo static
linking of whatever is in /sbin/init) this *has* to work.

I'm not sure if you could still pull that off with a current XEmacs,
unfortunately.  I keep meaning to try it. :-)