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Ask Slashdot: If You Could Assemble a "FrankenOS" What Parts Would You Use?
rnws writes: While commenting about log-structured file systems in relation to flash SSDs, I referenced Digital's Spiralog [pdf], released for OpenVMS in 1996. This got me thinking about how VMS to this day has some of, if not the best storage clustering (still) in use today. Many operating systems have come and gone over the years, particularly from the minicomputer era, and each usually had something unique it did really well. If you could stitch together your ideal OS, then which "body parts" would you use from today and reanimate from the past? I'd probably start with VMS's storage system, MPE's print handling, OS/2's Workplace Shell, AS/400's hardware abstraction and GNU's Bash shell. What would you choose?
What are these parts I keep hearing about? I use systemd.
Windows kernel, Linux UI.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Maybe some people do not appreciate it, but I think that having SOM (System Object Model) and WorkplaceShell (built over SOM) gave some functionality that was never exploited properly. So, building a Frankenstein I will put over the GUI, SOM (maybe the open NOM and somFree) and the Desktop elements will be built over it. (like Workplace Shell). Check out this OS/2 reference graphic: http://www.edm2.com/index.php/...
As long as I can use IBM's JCL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... to run my jobs, I know I can be truly productive.
FreeBSD kernel, Solaris networking/clustering capabilities, and a sort-of Windows UI (Imagine Windows 7, not the metro interface)
DCL (the VMS CLI) could also do with a major rework and enhancements.
True, but there are elements of DCL that are worth bringing forward as well - particularly the ability to define the command syntax at operating system (shell) level and bind it to programs. For those who who haven't developed under VMS, there is operating system (shell) defined syntax with which you declare what parameters, switches, options, etc. that your program desires. The syntax is robust enough to specify which options are optional, required, mutually exclusive, etc. When you build your program, you "compile" in your command syntax and at run time DCL handles syntax checking for you. Coding work for processing command line parameters is greatly reduced. You also get bonus stuff like integration to the help system and automatic shortening of non ambiguous switches.
VMS supports very elegant file versioning, which I found a very useful feature. By default, every time you open a file for write (and you modify the file) you get a new version of the file (kind of like copy on write at the file level). When you list the files in a directory, you can see all the versions of the file with the version number being an actual part of the file name(file.text;1, file.text;2). On a per file basis you can set how many versions you want to keep around and the file system will automatically purge the old versions as new ones are created. When opening a file you can specify any version you want, or if you don't specify a version you just get the latest.
The file system also supports specific backup related attributes that integrate with the backup system. This lets you specify that a file should be excluded from backup and if I recall, tracks if the file has been modified since the last backup.
BSD style kernel .NET or Java
MacOS X multithreading
Solaris networking and filesystems
MacOS 9 system layout and management (auto install/remove via drag and drop)
Windows 7 start menu
System level support for IL - such as
Control strip from MacOS9
BeOS multimedia engine
Linux device drivers
AppleScript/REXX application scripting
OpenBSD code auditing standards, firewall
OpenVMS system partitioning, file versioning and backup
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
You do realise that most of those wishes are granted with any modern Linux install? Hardware support has gotten a lot better (mostly it's just "install and go" now), software support is either (a) native versions of the stuff you want, or (b) installable using WINE (not everything works well with WINE, but it also is much better than it used to be). Installing software on Linux is in my opinion easier than most OSes, as long as it's in the main catalogues: just go to your software manager, do a search, click install. Even for more obscure stuff, it's maybe just adding a repository, which is a simple "Google for it, then copy and paste a line or two of text". Apparently, Linux also has native ZFS support.
Or am I missing something here?
OS X's GUI
That one is easy. Just find a 15 years old version of KDE.
lucm, indeed.
BeOS has an incredibly responsive UI. I am not a software engineer so I am not sure which part of the OS is in charge of this, but it's something no other OS has been able to do, before and since: be perfectly responsive to user commands (keyboard and mouseclicks). What this means is: no matter what the computer is doing at any given time, the UI will react to the user commands. There is no file-copy too big, a computational task too complex, that the reaction to a user's command would be delayed. BeOS has spoiled me so much, because with that OS, user comes first, always.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
There was a desktop OS called Domain/OS from Apollo Systems. Rumour had it that Apollo was founded by Multicians who fled from Honneywell. It was a great OS on a lot of levels, not least you had native Domain/OS, BSD4.3 and System5 UNIX, an amazing shared filesystem, and networking that was literally plug and play.
Then of course HP bought it and killed it in favor of HP/UX, sigh.
Who, me?
Your mouth to Microsoft and Apple's ears. I want an OS that does nothing but run my programs and stay out of my way. I can get my own browser thanks.
If y'all could just get Linux to run current AAA games, and some professional music & audio software, I'd never spend another nickel with Microsoft or Apple.
You are welcome on my lawn.