Re: tlug: FreeBSD News issue 2

["Jonathan Byrne" <jpmag@example.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: craigoda@example.com <craigoda@example.com>


>The community that produced Linux supports a wide variety
of
>distributions.  I think that the main unresolved issue that
>prevents Linux from being used in circumstances where it is
the
>right choice in a wider range of areas is the danger of
Linux
>splintering.

<SNIP>

>a single filestructure.   When Linux resolves the issue of
>different filestructures, it will be poised to dominate
over
>NT in the enterprise.


I definitely agree with this.  There are few, if any areas
where FreeBSD has any advantage over Linux anymore.
Somebody once told me it scales better in SMP machines, but
I don't know if that's true or not.

However, the fact that there is one FreeBSD with one file
structure is a definite strength.  The wide variety of Linux
distributions have been a great strength for Linux in terms
of innovation, raising its profile, and rapidly popularizing
it.  The different distributions are a core part of the
cooperative development model that worked so well to bring
Linux this far.

However, I think the time has come when some standardization
is in order.  What I think would serve well would be for the
Linux distributors to form a consortium for the purpose of
standardizing things like file structures.  Another area
that would be nice to standardize would be packages.  Not
easy, I know, since there are Debian Adherents, RPM
adherents, and others.  But a single, unified packaging
system that included all of the best features of existing
ones (or alternatively, became a superset that could install
*any* package format) would really help Linux a lot.

A unified standard on what libraries to use, so that we
wouldn't get things like some distributions apparently going
to glibc before it was really ready for prime time (which
seems to have been the case with RH 5.0?) would also be
useful.

A consortium forming standards for these things would give
end users confidence that anything for Linux would work on
any Linux distribution, while still leaving developers free
to innovate and compete on things like utilities, user
interfaces, etc.

No OS is perfect in this area.  There is a lot of MacOS
software that requires system 7.5 or higher to run, for
example.  Windows 95 and NT, and FreeBSD, probably have a
few issues of their own, as well.  And Linux is certainly
not awful in this area.  But a solid base of standards
common among all distributions would be able to take Linux
from being good in this area to being the best in this area
and leading the industry.

Ideally, such a consortium might expand to include Linus
Torvalds and kernel development?  Why?  Because if an IS
executive asks what will happen to FreeBSD kernel
development if the head of FreeBSD steps in front of a truck
and is killed tomorrow, there's a ready answer.  It's a
formalized organization, and there will be no interruption
or disruption in FreeBSD.  In the case of Linux, however,
the answer isn't so clear-cut.  I don't doubt that someone
would come forward, or that possibly a consortium would then
emerge, but we can't point to the same kind of
organizational structure that FreeBSD can and tell that IS
executive "We're covered.  Here's the organization."  The
kernel gets cooperative development from many places, but
there isn't an organization in charge of this.  Just one
person, really.  If something tragic were to happen and
there were no organization in place to manage kernel
development, then there really would be a chance for a major
splintering of Linux.

I agree with Craig that splintering could be a danger for
Linux, and I think the time has come for the industry to
take steps to resolve areas where there is splintering, and
to prevent further splintering in the future.

Jonathan

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