Re: User vs. Kernel (was: To be smug, or not to be smug, that is , the question)

Richard Gooch (rgooch@atnf.csiro.au)
Sat, 23 Jan 1999 08:38:18 +1100

Jes Sorensen writes:
> >>>>> "Jon" == Jon M Taylor <taylorj@ecs.csus.edu> writes:
>
> Jon> Soon, probably within a year or two, a decent, open-source
> Jon> next generation OS like Hurd (Microkernel), FluxOS (polymorphic
> Jon> virtual machines/nested processes), Dolphin (exokernel), The
> Jon> Cache Kernel, or another NGOS will be developed to the point
> Jon> where it can step in and cannibalize the guts out of Linux to
> Jon> produce a fully-functional NGOS which is suitable for mainstream
> Jon> use. With the Univerity of Utah OSKit having been released, this
> Jon> process is well underway and accelerating rapidly. At that
> Jon> point, then, we all can dump 25+ years of accumulated Unix API
> Jon> brokenness and move on to a clean, modern, well-designed OS.
>
> Jon> Linux will then exist only as some sort of NGOS legacy
> Jon> compatibility wrapper, like WINE, and the real Linux can
> Jon> gracefully fade away into history, its "springboard" role having
> Jon> run its course. This is the natural way of things. If you want
> Jon> to "fix" Unix/Linux, do it right and rework everything ground-up
> Jon> from first principles. Just MHO of course.
>
> Hahahaha, this is clearly the funniest posting on this list this
> year. It's so funny I just had to print it and put it up on the wall.

Yep, brought a chuckle to me as well.

> John, just one question: if you belive in that rubbish, why on earth
> do you waste your time on this crap old-fashioned operating system
> called Linux?

To be fair, he did say Linux was a stepping board. So once one of
these NGOS's is ready for general use (and doesn't run like a
one-legged dog in a swamp), he will switch to it. Frankly, I don't see
that happening in the timeframe he mentions. Sure, there will be a
public release of such an NGOS, but I suspect it will run slower than
Linux 2.0. Maybe slower than Linux 1.2.

I recall a quote from Dave Miller a year or two ago, when there was a
thread about monolithic vs. microkernels. He pointed out that we
haven't even come to the limits of monolithic kernel design, so
considering monolithic kernels like Linux as "obsolete" is highly
premature.

Much later, with 2.2 on the doorstep, I pause and consider his
words. 2.2 has brought us many performance improvements (networking,
dcache, SMP). It's a great day indeed for those who religiously stick
to "production" kernels. So, what now? Will kernel development slow to
a crawl (disregarding driver development)? No way! I see talk of
future developments (for 2.3) in many areas of the kernel. If
anything, activity is even more vigorous that it was back when 2.0 was
released. That may reflect the increased number of developers that
have been attracted to Linux.

So: you ain't seen nothing yet!

Regards,

Richard....

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