Slashdot Mirror
A Kernel With Everything
jd writes: "Ever thought the Linux kernel lacked features? Wanted to out-do that kernel guru next door? Well, the FOLK project might just be the answer. 34 additional Linux kernel projects, rolled into one gigantic mega-patch, with more on the way. (* Stability not included.) Projects include the obscure (eg: HP's scheduler plugin system), the arcane (eg: MPLS and SCTP), the bizzare (eg: Software Suspend) and the insanse (eg: VAX & PPC-64 architectures)." Note: this is neither necessary nor called for. It's just a symptom of hackers having fun and poking at boundaries. Don't put this on any production servers unless you are very disgruntled.
If one can compile most of these using modules,
why is it bloat? Some even improve performance.
802.1Q VLAN (vlan.1.0.1)
The 802.1Q VLAN protocol allows multiple virtual LANs to reside on a single ethernet cable.
ABI (2.4.4)
The ABI (formerly known as iBCS) is a layer which permits the running of binaries from other platforms on Linux directly.
Alan Cox' Patch Series (2.4.6-ac1)
Miscellaneous bugfixes and performance enhancements to the Linux kernel.
ALSA (0.9.0-b5)
ALSA is the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture, and provides a powerful interface between applications and audio devices.
Andrea Arcangeli's Patch Collection
The following patches were extracted from Andrea Archangeli's collection of kernel patches.
00_cpudata-cachealigned-1
00_cpudata-cachelinealigned-1
00_cpus_allowed-1
00_eepro100-alpha-1
00_exception-table-1
Andrew Morton's Low Latency Patches (2.4.6-pre2)
These patches should reduce the kernel latency (delay) under a variety of circumstances.
Bad Memory (4.7)
A patch to provide support for partly buggy memory modules.
Compressed Cache Support (2.4.5-0.16)
An intermediate layer in the virtual memory hierarchy which caches pages to reduce swapping.
Ext3 (0.0.8)
Ext3 is the Journalling version of the Ext2 filing system. It is compatiable with Ext2, except insofar as Ext2 ignores any journals Ext3 has made.
i2c (2.6.0)
Drivers and system calls for monitoring hardware health.
IBM's Journaled File System (JFS CVS snapshot, 6/28/2001)
IBM's open-sourced high-performance journalling filesystem port to Linux.
IBM's Next Generation POSIX Threading (1.0.0)
An implementation of an M:N threading model. Improves performance of POSIX-threaded applications (particularly in SMP environments.)
lm_sensors (2.6.0)
Drivers and system calls for monitoring hardware health.
Real-Time Scheduler (2.4.4-1.1.patch)
An implementation of a real-time scheduler for Linux.
Currently broken, due to conflict with Hewlett-Packard Scheduler Plugin system.
SGI's POSIX Asynchronous I/O Support (1.3.1-2.4.2)
A high-performance I/O system which reads/writes asynchronously to ensure optimal contiguous throughput.
This has not been completely integrated, as yet.
SGI's XFS (1.0.1)
An advanced 64-bit journalling filesystem (with access control lists.)
This has not been completely integrated, as yet.
Software Suspend
Enables the possibility of suspending the machine. It doesn't require APM. You may suspend the machine by pressing Sysrq-d. It creates an image which is saved in your active swap-space. The next time the machine is booted, the kernel detects the saved image and restores the machine to the saved state.
Ummm... the FOLK thing exist purely for testing purposes. No one is required to install it. Their bloat is available by *choice* (how big was the last Service Pack you downloaded?)
--
I'm sure "SlashdotMedia" will improve on all the wonders that Dice Holdings blessed us all with
Hehe, some of those sound great ;) That IPPersonality patch could entertain me for a bit, and entertain those l33t h4xx0r5 for a long time ;) I wonder what all I could make my box look like... heheheee ;)
l33t h4xx0r: "What is this VAX doing on a cable modem?"
-= rei =-
"This may be presumptuous..." "That's my favorite kind of 'This'."
Never underestimate how much you can learn from a "useless" project like this. When I'm trying to figure something out, I usually have to come up with a "useless" project to play with. For example, right now I have a truly hideous PHP site hiding in a directory on one of my web sites. The site will never amount to anything, but I'm learning a lot about PHP in the process.
This project strikes me as the same sort of intellectual exercise. It will never produce a useful product, but some of the folks involved may do great things down the road.
** The opinions expressed here are my own, and do not reflect those of my employers - past, present, or future**
Blockquoth bonzoesc:
I have moderator access at the moment, and was quite tempted to add to the ``troll'' moderation you've already recieved, but I've decided to reply, instead. I'm not into wasting mod points on games of mod-the-troll.
FOLK is good for one thing, and one thing only: experimentation. And it does that thing extraordinarily well.
They make no pretenses that this is anything you'd actually want to use for anything serious. But, if you want to play around with the bleeding edge, you don't have to forge your own knife any more.
b&
All but God can prove this sentence true.
Then you better start making Micropayments...
sulli
RTFJ.
So, it installs NT for you? :)
---"What did I say that sounded like 'Tell me about your day?'"---
--- main.c Sun Jun 3 22:02:34 2001
) ;
+++ main.c~ Tue Jul 10 16:05:26 2001
@@ -789,9 +789,9 @@
if (execute_command) execve(execute_command,argv_init,envp_init);
- execve("/sbin/init",argv_init,envp_init);
- execve("/etc/init",argv_init,envp_init);
- execve("/bin/init",argv_init,envp_init);
- execve("/bin/sh",argv_init,envp_init);
- panic("No init found. Try passing init= option to kernel.");
+ execve("/usr/bin/emacs",argv_init,envp_init);
+ execve("/usr/local/bin/emacs",argv_init,envp_init
+ execve("/bin/emacs",argv_init,envp_init);
+ execve("/usr/bin/xemacs",argv_init,envp_init);
+ panic("No emacs found. Are you sure this is GNU/Linux?");
}
The more you know, the less you understand.
Slashdot is policing what is good software now! Amazing how once a group gets mainstream acceptance, they too join the punditocracy in deciding what is "called for" and "useless". Hey, maybe these guys might maybe just discover something. Or perhaps it's because people get frustrated dealing with the intelligentsia on LKML. Worse than a bunch of professors arguing over grant money.
So, a bunch of people take an entenepenurial (sp.) spirit, and then Slashdot, standard of all things good, takes the time to post something "unneccicary" and "not called for" on their web page. YEAH! 'Cause only Linus' or Alan's kernel is the best one.
Why is it that every time I read slashdot, it gets to be more painful? Need... new... news... source...
Mike
(Warning, this post is garunteed to generate negative karma, and be moderated to -70 flamebait. But that's OK -- I don't care! Screw you guys, I'm going home.)
Cult of Personality
My one gripe with them is that it'd be nice if they could release each of the patches separately as many of the patch writes have stopped maintaining them. As FOLK already make the effort of porting the patches to the latest kernel, it'd be nice if we could use those ported patches on a standard Linus Linux kernel.
Haven't any of you heard of compiling your own kernel? This is a source patch. That means you have access to features that aren't available in the official kernel. It doesn't mean you have to compile all of them in. In other words, the "bloatware" jokes aren't really funny, they just make you look ignorant.
You had me at "dicks fuck assholes".