Slashdot Mirror
Interview: Ask Alan Cox
If you've been using Linux or reading Slashdot for more than a few months, we don't need to tell you about Alan Cox. (If you are new to Linux and/or Slashdot you can learn more about him here.) Anyway, this is your chance to ask Alan anything you want. Post your question(s) below. Moderators will choose the most interesting ones. Answers will appear Friday. Please try to ask only one question per post. Thanks.
I always see that you've created a new piece of software, or a new device driver, getting new hardware, etc. My question is, how much of your software development is done because of a contract, and how much just for the fun of developing?
I been tring to look for info on the ext3 project.
What is the status on it? And where can I find more info on it?
Do you think that non-x86 versions of Linux will forever remain on the periphery, or will Linux actually become a force for platform independence?
(currently testing something about signatures here)
Do you think xfs will become the filesystem for linux? Matt Fuqua mfuqua@lgc.com
I see lots of Anonymous Coward postings signed by you! ;)
Geeky modern art T-shirts
Hi Alan,
;)), I am also interested about GNOMOvision...
/. feature to ask you about GNOMOvision. Are there any sources at all or roadmap or some information for potential 'coders' to help, and if so where?
:)
Although what on of the things I most love about you is your kernel hacking (no, this is not a marriage proposal
I know there's a link in your v4l page, but it links to GNOME instead. Not willing to disturb you with one more out of thousands of email you must receive, I use this
Many thanks, and nice work!
1.Alan with the large amount of money being suddenly pumped into Linux and the media coverage do you ever wish back for the good old days when Linux was unknown to most people?
2. Do you think the lucrative jobs opening up for Linux developers will cause people to defect to the coporate world and hurt Linux as a whole ?
3. Do you see yourself still working on Linux 5 years from now ? What about other people on the Kernel mailing list ? And do you think the quality of the code people now write for Linux is still up to the standards of the old days ?
4. What are your thoughts on the Red Hat IPO ?
5. Who do you think is the most underrated contributor to the Linux movement ?
finall thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
Vidi, vici, veni. (I saw, I conquered, I came)
What do you like most about Linux from a developer's point of view and where do you see room for improvement?
assert(expired(knowledge));
Okay, there's not a Linux hacker on the face of the planet who wouldn't kill to have your job.
- Paid by RHADL.
- Wake up when you want, work when you want.
- Go to all the big trade shows.
- Work with the likes of Linus and all the other regulars.
- Get free toys (and I mean good toys) like PA-RISC systems from HP and Athlons from AMD.
But it wasn't always that way. Back before even RedHat paid you, back when you hacked on your aging spare equipment, what drew you to it? How did you know this was what you wanted to do before you knew about all the perqs involved, or that there would ever be perqs?
Will the e2fs compression patches (at http://opensource.captech.com/e2compr/) be put in the mainstream kernel? What is the maximum state of intoxication allowable to be working on a computer? Should /dev/penguin be manitory on all Linux distro's, or just a bundled "plush Tux"? And by the way, what's the count of penguin at your house anyway?
---
Spammed? Click here for free slack on how to fight it!
--
# Canmephians for a better Linux Kernel
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.net";
I'm always concerned with redundancy and I think the linux kernel development could benifit from it the same way our servers can. If something were to happen to Linus (albeit very tragic) would you or someone else be able to take the weight that he bears for the kernel development process? I fear that the community is putting all it's eggs in one basket and perhaps you are the only viable replacement.
-Aaron Dokey
----------------- Who is Jesus?
It's been reported that Microsoft extended you a job offer once.
How much was it for?
--
What direction do you see RedHat going in now that they've IPO'd?
-Laktar, a.k.a. Nick Rosen, laktar.dyndns.org
If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord:
26. No matter how attractive certain members of the rebellion are, there is
probably someone just as attractive who is not desperate to kill me.
Therefore, I will think twice before ordering a prisoner sent to my
bedchamber.
-- Peter's Evil Overlord List, http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html
First....where is linux's smp heading? 2.2 gave us major changes in that area.....any more comming with 2.4?
Second....how is the new quicker release cycle going to affect kernel development in your opinion? Is it going to slow down/speed up anything? Or is it just so suits realise that development IS being done....
Third....how is the whole linux-on-sgi thing going? You were originally the guy behind that....what's your opinion on the sgi embracing linux stuff happening now?
Alan,
I am very interested in kernel development and writing device drivers. I'm reasonably well versed in C, and I own the "Writing Linux Device Drivers" book, but even still I find learning these things daunting. Could you delineate a strategy by which one could get started in kernel development? If you could make a list, step 1 through step n, of "Things to do to be able to join in developing the Linux kernel", what would it be?
A learning strategy would be helpful. For example: how do you test a device driver? Where do you start? How do you get the design specs for hardware memory registers? etc.
Thanks
Alan-
What I find most impressive about your life is not simply the excellent technical work, but the fact that you seem to have a life outside work as well... I'm most interested in your recent trip to Iceland. As someone who has Iceland solidly inked at the top of the travel list, are there any locations that you would classify as absolutely must-see? Good bars and restaurants in Reykjavic? Local brews that merit tasting?
I'd like to see a little more local flavor and a little less tourist fare while I'm there, and would guess that you took a similar approach...
Thanks!
I notice here that you were involved in the creation of the nano-x project at some point. What is your opinion on the continued viability of X-Windows? Should the open source community be focusing on developing something better, or is X the best we can hope for?
-- Slashdot sucks.
What is your opinion of large companies, like Sun, that are trying to claim they are open source but in the end their licenses are much too strict to seriously be thought of that way (e.g. Sun's SCSL)?
Do you think they will add or take away from the success of Linux?
If FreeBSD has such a superior code base as its users claim, why doesn't a renown talented hacker like yourself work on it more then Linux?
Thanks for volunteering your time on Linux and answering these questions.
-- Tal
Do you think that Linux will ever become an enterprise class OS or will that position remain the domain of other Unices, and if so, how long do you think it will take?
-Laktar, a.k.a. Nick Rosen, laktar.dyndns.org
If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord:
76. If the hero runs up to my roof, I will not run up after him and struggle
with him in an attempt to push him over the edge. I will also not engage him
at the edge of a cliff. (In the middle of a rope-bridge over a river of molten
lava is not even worth considering.)
-- Peter's Evil Overlord List, http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html
Are you ever going to cut yor hair short?
I'm confused by the ac kernel patches. It seems that when a new kernel comes out it is almost immediately followed by a flurry of ac patches. Whats the deal?
The difference between Canada and the USA is that in Canada healthcare is a right and gun ownership is a privilege.
Some time ago you mentioned on your diary that work was 10% complete on the secret project. What is the secret project? Or when can we know about it?
I'm very happy in seeing your interest in develop one GNU Cobol. I think this is very important: about 90% of the software in the word use Cobol.
Talk to us about the state of the project and it's future!
...
Thanks for your work!
If you were a daemon, what kind of daemon would you be and which do you think is cooler, the FreeBSD or OpenBSD Daemon?
-Laktar, a.k.a. Nick Rosen, laktar.dyndns.org
If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord:
1. My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not
face-concealing ones.
-- Peter's Evil Overlord List, http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html
Alan, with the upcoming 2.4 kernel is there any work being done to address Linux tcpip performance issues? Is there any plans on making the IP stack multi-threaded and what about the stack spin lock issues on SMP machines?
If you were stranded on a desert island, what ten albums and ten books would you want with you?
pronoblem
Who's your favorite hacker and why?
-Laktar, a.k.a. Nick Rosen, laktar.dyndns.org
If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord:
78. I will not tell my Legions of Terror "And he must be taken alive!" The
command will be "And try to take him alive if it is reasonably practical."
-- Peter's Evil Overlord List, http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html
Where do you see linux development going after 2.3? What do you think the "Next Big Thing (TM)" is going to be in the computer scene (not just kernel-wise) ? What lessons have you learned from working on the kernel source? If you could restructure the kernel architecture with the snap of your fingers, what would you change? At this stage of the game, would you reinvent the wheel with a superior design even if it changed everything that was built on it? Can Linux remain an "experimental" OS?
Suppose both Linus and yourself get run over by a bus on the same day. Who would take over the major kernel decisions?
S
I'm a network security person and have always been intrigued by the concept of the 'hardened' BSD kernel (which isn't really THAT hard), and some of the role-based and compartmentalized systems out there.
What is the status of the security of Linux's internals compared with other OS'es, (mostly as regards potential buffer overflows and root hacks) and what do you see as the overall direction, if any, of Linux's security beyond the standard UNIX security model.
jf
While I realize that you might not be completely objective about this question, what do you think of the design of the HURD, as it compares to Linux?
I once asked Linus himself this question and he replied in rather annoyed tones that "the HURD is a great academic design that would never work in practice" (or something along those lines).
Richard Stallman has been steadfast in refusing to endorse Linux as the GNU kernel. Does he raise these objections merely for emotional reasons, or does he see the HURD as having real technical advantages to the current monolithic design?
Forgive me if I am uninformed on these issues; I am not a kernel developer.
What are your thoughts on the matter? What possible problems do you see with a pure OO kernel?
--
There isn't any plans to include support for DVD in 2.4 and the near future as far as I understand. One of the biggest obstacles of course being patents and closed information. I would still like to know what your opinion is about when we can get that into Linux anyway and how much support in the kernel is needed?
:-) has been done before, eg. Wine and Samba.
It may not be necessary with special kernel support if the interface is something like IDE,SCSI, etc. and only the protocols to unscramble the video-stream is necessary in user-space, and some kind of reverse-engineering or should I say re-implementation
AC #967
1. What do you think about graphics (i.e. KGI) in the kernel?
2. Now that Redhat is worth billions, have you asked for a raise?
--- A Jesus Fish eating a Darwin Fish only proves Darwin's point.
Was it a difficult decision for you when you left ZZ Top. They were one of my favorite bands and I was really sorry when you left tnem. Are you planning a reunion tour someday?
I heard you don't even use a screen editor, but instead use sed and work purely in STDIN and STDOUT. Is this true?
support gun control: take guns from cops
Mr. Cox, would you rather see Mae Ling Mak:
a. Naked
b. Petrified
c. Naked and Petrified
d. ANDOVER SUX!!
These questions are prompted by something Alan mentioned in that brief Ottawa Citizen article I'd submitted a short while ago. Re. enabling Third-world intellectual infrastructure development.
:-)
How has the multicultural and multilingual participation affected the development of Linux as a whole?
Have you begun to see evidence of third-world participation effecting the progress of Linux yet, or is it still in the "hope to see soon" category? What needs to be done/changed to assist in the cross-cultural adoption of Linux? (Unicode?)
When can we expect to see a Linux Universal Translator Engine?
--The more you know, the less you know.
Sure, there's not a geek on the planet who wouldn't allow you into the "circle of geeks", so to speak, I'm mean, jeepers - you're the guy who wrote my tcp/ip stack! :) My question, though, is this: would you consider yourself a geek? Do you fall into any of the other categories of geekdom? (Ex - Reading comic books, being a Sci-fi fan, preferring books over TV, being a pro wrestling fan, etc).
"I like to put my bum on things. It's fun for everyone." - Tom Green
# wrote sig.txt, 23 lines, 31337 chars
There has been much frustrated lamenting on the Linux sound development mailing list regarding the less-than-ideal support that Linux has for audio. I have found that even if I pay for the commercial drivers, I get buggy and incomplete support, even for common hardware. Also, there are concerns regarding issues within the kernel that prevent the creation of truly world-class audio applications on Linux. I know that you are working to improve this situation, and I was wondering what we can expect in upcoming releases of the kernel.