You are wrong. The GPL is not an end user license, read it and see. Users are never asked to "agree" to the terms of the GPL, because it doesn't set out to restrict the use of the software. The GPL only regulates distribution of a work, not its use by its users, and national and international copyright laws make a very clear distinction between use and distribution.
You are free to use GPL'ed software in whatever way you want, so long as your re-distribution of the software or modifications to it are in compliance with the GPL. If you don't agree with the GPL, don't distribute your work.
My definition of "systems programming" includes the very lowest levels (right at task scheduling, resource management, interrupt services), all the way up to applications. Surely C++ has been used to write Windows applications, but I've never heard that it comprises most of the operating system proper.
The original poster asks a good question: is C++ more efficient for those lower-level things (things that would form an operating system kernel, or microkernel servers) than traditional languages (C and architecture assembly)?
You did strip the debugging information from your executables produced by GCC, right? GCC lets you include both full debugging information with optimization enabled (something few compilers do correctly). It's your job to run "strip".
Having never used IRIX's C compiler in-depth, I can't really comment on its capabilities (they sound impressive). But GCC is one of the most correct compilers I've used. Do you have any examples of invalid code that GCC will allow through with "-W -Wall -ansi -pedantic"?
Old at 7681? What does that make me? I remember back when slashdot didn't have any trolls, back before "lite mode" (which is the only way I can stand to view slashdot), and even back before accounts (I was late in getting one).
Personally, I don't like 19th century English fiction, but I don't think it should be removed from the library. I do not believe someone who has an interest in the subject should be prohibited from accessing it through the library's books or their Internet terminals.
If my tax dollars are paying for a library, I want those dollars to buy as many different books (or other information resources) as possible, because that's the most utilitarian solution I can imagine. (I also think it's fair that citizens who would rather not support the library, for whatever reason, should be free to abstain from those payments, but it's clear that the mobs strong-arming our libraries have little capacity to deal with such an issue, with all these nasty little nekkid pikchurs clouding their collective brain). Allocating money this way helps the most people, most of the time, and those who don't like 19th century English fiction (like me) can simply ignore it, knowing my small chunk of tax money is making someone else happy.
Please stop spreading misinformation about Debian. The Debian Slink distribution is not tied to a 2.0 kernel. You can compile, install, and run a 2.2 (or 2.1 or 2.3) kernel with no special tools.
I believe you are correct in the areas you cover. However, there are developers, systems administrators, and "average users" out there who don't want "more Intel-compatable." There are people sick of the cruft and crap inherent in being compatable with everything Intel has created since 1980. This crap makes life worse for everyone.
Operating system developers work around old architectural problems--there because to remove them would be to break some DOS application from 1983. Users get poorly-designed, ambiguous, and conflicting peripheral interfaces. Which way does the IDE connector go, pin 1 towards power connector? Which one is pin 1? This cable doesn't have a red stripe. I only get _two_ drives on this channel?
Ever connect a 50-pin Centronics, 50-pin dense, or 68-pin dense SCSI connector to its cable? It only goes one way, if it's made correctly.
Remember when microprocessors were _small_? Intel has doubled the volume of each of their processor housings since the 386, all the while requiring complicated cooling solutions to keep them within operating temperature ranges. This isn't progress, this is regress. They're faster, but they're so sloppy and loud. I'm convinced with the technology we have today (not tomorrow), we should be able to build a machine with performance on-par with that of a Pentium II with no fans. In fact, I'm typing on such a machine, it's a G3 laptop made by Apple, and it runs a multi-user, multi-tasking Unix clone. These machines are expensive because they're expensive to produce. Its components will continue to be produced in small quantities until people demand similar performance from the computers they use every day.
PC board BIOS sets get hacked up every time someone makes a larger IDE disk. I believe that the only reason IDE is popular is because it's cheap, and the only reason IDE is cheap is because profit was the only thing clone-makers were looking at ten years ago. Ever take a look at LILO's source code? Why should anyone have to go through such contortions to boot an operating system? There are decent two-stage bootloaders (I use GRUB, FreeBSD's loader works well, I'm sure there are others), but the PC architecture is just so braindamaged when compared with something like the Alpha, or OpenFirmware on a SPARC or a PowerPC. I don't imply the latter are examples of perfect implementations, but they beat the spotted trousers off the PC. Every time I boot my Alpha, I'm impressed by the sheer usefullness of its SRM firmware. I can boot directly a kernel bootstrap program, initialize the PAL code in the processor, and be off, with none of that 640K silliness. I can boot MILO (or even flash it into firmware!), and "ls" my devices, before choosing what to boot.
Crusoe could have changed this. All of this. Transmeta could have implemented a new, clean instruction set. They could have worked hard to provide top-quality documentation, reference material, and developer resources to a bunch of people looking for something new. They have my favorite "specially-abled alien" (or whatever INS wants to call him) to lead the port of an excellent operating system to this new architecture. They could have implemented a 64-bit memory addressing scheme. I have only read the PDF whitepaper, but it seems to me they could have easily used a 64-bit instruction set. Crusoe runs cool--very cool. I want my desktop to be fanless. That the hard drive makes noise implies that it moves, which it does by design. Only electrons need to move in a microprocessor. Transmeta's Code Morphing (TM) allows an excellent abstraction of the ISA from the hardware below it, and we need this.
But I think I'm too idealistic. Transmeta couldn't have pulled that off. Transmeta is a business, and they want to money by selling a product to people that want it. People think they want Intel because they don't know anything else, and getting funding to fight Intel is probably harder than running a new chip from design to fabrication.
I guess I'm disappointed because Transmeta failed to change the world.
But Mars does have an atmosphere, however thin. It has wind, dust storms, and maybe even water on or beneath its surface. Its surface environment seems very livable, with the right precautions. Venus, on the other hand, has intense surface pressure, active volcanoes, and a vile atmosphere (carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid). I'll take Mars.
Perhaps you didn't actually read the article, or perhaps your definition of "informative" differs severely from mine, but this is one of the few on-topic articles Slashdot has these days. Would you rather read about the latest consumer computer hardware (for 1978), or Andover's award show, packed full of truly insipid little masturbatory categories? If computers aren't your thing, I could see how you might be up for an article on how high-school ruined your life; Jon Katz wants to tell you that. Perhaps another copyright or patent lawsuit article would be better--all that excitement in just one paragraph, don't know if I can take all that law. Again. This week.
I think you completely misunderstood. The article summary says Litestep is licensed under the GPL--his software _IS_ GPLed software. He's worried about other people completely and easily "borrowing" it for projects for which no source is released. Because much of his software is well-written (modular, with cleanly defined interfaces), copying the code into another application would be sufficiently easier than extracting an algorithm from spaghetti code.
That's kind of surprising. I've never used Linux on an SGI, but doesn't it use the framebuffer device for a console driver? I've not had any problems running XF86_FBDev with Linux's framebuffer devices (on my G3 laptop, on a 3Dfx Voodoo 3, and on a Sparc). Maybe the FBDev X server is something to look into.
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To get to the pictures...
on
Geeks in Suits
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· Score: 2
In the URL, replace the string "Christinas" with "Christines" ('a' to 'e'). This will get you started.
Are you sure Gates has given billions to charity? I believe he's pledged to donate more than a billion dollars spread over the years to come, but to date the donations he's made are proportionally equivalent to my $120 check to PBS last year.
Was I the only person who read the technical white paper that clearly said the Code Morphing (TM) software would be stored in ROM (Read Only Memory, for those new to computers) with each revision of the chip?
And you waste an IRQ and PCI slot for each one of them. And you still get two devices per channel, instead of 15. There's a big difference between 2 and 15.
That's what false contact information and JunkBuster is for! Did I mention it also keeps Netscape from ignoring its UI event queue while doing DNS lookups? It's fun for a girl and a boy.
Slashdot Mirror
You are wrong. The GPL is not an end user license, read it and see. Users are never asked to "agree" to the terms of the GPL, because it doesn't set out to restrict the use of the software. The GPL only regulates distribution of a work, not its use by its users, and national and international copyright laws make a very clear distinction between use and distribution.
You are free to use GPL'ed software in whatever way you want, so long as your re-distribution of the software or modifications to it are in compliance with the GPL. If you don't agree with the GPL, don't distribute your work.
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Watch out for BeOS! It's a user's worst nightmare! They even expect you to unzip your own packages when you install them!
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You could just hit "Escape" instead.
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My definition of "systems programming" includes the very lowest levels (right at task scheduling, resource management, interrupt services), all the way up to applications. Surely C++ has been used to write Windows applications, but I've never heard that it comprises most of the operating system proper.
The original poster asks a good question: is C++ more efficient for those lower-level things (things that would form an operating system kernel, or microkernel servers) than traditional languages (C and architecture assembly)?
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You did strip the debugging information from your executables produced by GCC, right? GCC lets you include both full debugging information with optimization enabled (something few compilers do correctly). It's your job to run "strip".
--
Open Source? Where can I download it? Surely someone has a tarball of it somewhere.
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Having never used IRIX's C compiler in-depth, I can't really comment on its capabilities (they sound impressive). But GCC is one of the most correct compilers I've used. Do you have any examples of invalid code that GCC will allow through with "-W -Wall -ansi -pedantic"?
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Old at 7681? What does that make me? I remember back when slashdot didn't have any trolls, back before "lite mode" (which is the only way I can stand to view slashdot), and even back before accounts (I was late in getting one).
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Why would my boss care which browser I use? Why should I care which browser he uses?
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Personally, I don't like 19th century English fiction, but I don't think it should be removed from the library. I do not believe someone who has an interest in the subject should be prohibited from accessing it through the library's books or their Internet terminals.
If my tax dollars are paying for a library, I want those dollars to buy as many different books (or other information resources) as possible, because that's the most utilitarian solution I can imagine. (I also think it's fair that citizens who would rather not support the library, for whatever reason, should be free to abstain from those payments, but it's clear that the mobs strong-arming our libraries have little capacity to deal with such an issue, with all these nasty little nekkid pikchurs clouding their collective brain). Allocating money this way helps the most people, most of the time, and those who don't like 19th century English fiction (like me) can simply ignore it, knowing my small chunk of tax money is making someone else happy.
--
You're James Clark's text formatting tool, aren't you? Yeah, I've been using you for a long time, you don't count.
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Please stop spreading misinformation about Debian. The Debian Slink distribution is not tied to a 2.0 kernel. You can compile, install, and run a 2.2 (or 2.1 or 2.3) kernel with no special tools.
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2000 - 1984 = 16, and 16 > 10 according to my calculations.
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IRIX is _that_ cool, I hear. I'd like to run it on my laptop (PowerPC), but I can't think of a way to re-target it there without the source code.
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I believe you are correct in the areas you cover. However, there are developers, systems administrators, and "average users" out there who don't want "more Intel-compatable." There are people sick of the cruft and crap inherent in being compatable with everything Intel has created since 1980. This crap makes life worse for everyone.
Operating system developers work around old architectural problems--there because to remove them would be to break some DOS application from 1983. Users get poorly-designed, ambiguous, and conflicting peripheral interfaces. Which way does the IDE connector go, pin 1 towards power connector? Which one is pin 1? This cable doesn't have a red stripe. I only get _two_ drives on this channel?
Ever connect a 50-pin Centronics, 50-pin dense, or 68-pin dense SCSI connector to its cable? It only goes one way, if it's made correctly.
Remember when microprocessors were _small_? Intel has doubled the volume of each of their processor housings since the 386, all the while requiring complicated cooling solutions to keep them within operating temperature ranges. This isn't progress, this is regress. They're faster, but they're so sloppy and loud. I'm convinced with the technology we have today (not tomorrow), we should be able to build a machine with performance on-par with that of a Pentium II with no fans. In fact, I'm typing on such a machine, it's a G3 laptop made by Apple, and it runs a multi-user, multi-tasking Unix clone. These machines are expensive because they're expensive to produce. Its components will continue to be produced in small quantities until people demand similar performance from the computers they use every day.
PC board BIOS sets get hacked up every time someone makes a larger IDE disk. I believe that the only reason IDE is popular is because it's cheap, and the only reason IDE is cheap is because profit was the only thing clone-makers were looking at ten years ago. Ever take a look at LILO's source code? Why should anyone have to go through such contortions to boot an operating system? There are decent two-stage bootloaders (I use GRUB, FreeBSD's loader works well, I'm sure there are others), but the PC architecture is just so braindamaged when compared with something like the Alpha, or OpenFirmware on a SPARC or a PowerPC. I don't imply the latter are examples of perfect implementations, but they beat the spotted trousers off the PC. Every time I boot my Alpha, I'm impressed by the sheer usefullness of its SRM firmware. I can boot directly a kernel bootstrap program, initialize the PAL code in the processor, and be off, with none of that 640K silliness. I can boot MILO (or even flash it into firmware!), and "ls" my devices, before choosing what to boot.
Crusoe could have changed this. All of this. Transmeta could have implemented a new, clean instruction set. They could have worked hard to provide top-quality documentation, reference material, and developer resources to a bunch of people looking for something new. They have my favorite "specially-abled alien" (or whatever INS wants to call him) to lead the port of an excellent operating system to this new architecture. They could have implemented a 64-bit memory addressing scheme. I have only read the PDF whitepaper, but it seems to me they could have easily used a 64-bit instruction set. Crusoe runs cool--very cool. I want my desktop to be fanless. That the hard drive makes noise implies that it moves, which it does by design. Only electrons need to move in a microprocessor. Transmeta's Code Morphing (TM) allows an excellent abstraction of the ISA from the hardware below it, and we need this.
But I think I'm too idealistic. Transmeta couldn't have pulled that off. Transmeta is a business, and they want to money by selling a product to people that want it. People think they want Intel because they don't know anything else, and getting funding to fight Intel is probably harder than running a new chip from design to fabrication.
I guess I'm disappointed because Transmeta failed to change the world.
--
But Mars does have an atmosphere, however thin. It has wind, dust storms, and maybe even water on or beneath its surface. Its surface environment seems very livable, with the right precautions. Venus, on the other hand, has intense surface pressure, active volcanoes, and a vile atmosphere (carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid). I'll take Mars.
--
Perhaps you didn't actually read the article, or perhaps your definition of "informative" differs severely from mine, but this is one of the few on-topic articles Slashdot has these days. Would you rather read about the latest consumer computer hardware (for 1978), or Andover's award show, packed full of truly insipid little masturbatory categories? If computers aren't your thing, I could see how you might be up for an article on how high-school ruined your life; Jon Katz wants to tell you that. Perhaps another copyright or patent lawsuit article would be better--all that excitement in just one paragraph, don't know if I can take all that law. Again. This week.
--
I think you completely misunderstood. The article summary says Litestep is licensed under the GPL--his software _IS_ GPLed software. He's worried about other people completely and easily "borrowing" it for projects for which no source is released. Because much of his software is well-written (modular, with cleanly defined interfaces), copying the code into another application would be sufficiently easier than extracting an algorithm from spaghetti code.
--
Wow, IRIX sounds really cool. I've only used older versions (on older Crimson and Iris workstations). Where can I grab the source?
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That's kind of surprising. I've never used Linux on an SGI, but doesn't it use the framebuffer device for a console driver? I've not had any problems running XF86_FBDev with Linux's framebuffer devices (on my G3 laptop, on a 3Dfx Voodoo 3, and on a Sparc). Maybe the FBDev X server is something to look into.
--
In the URL, replace the string "Christinas" with "Christines" ('a' to 'e'). This will get you started.
--
Are you sure Gates has given billions to charity? I believe he's pledged to donate more than a billion dollars spread over the years to come, but to date the donations he's made are proportionally equivalent to my $120 check to PBS last year.
--
Was I the only person who read the technical white paper that clearly said the Code Morphing (TM) software would be stored in ROM (Read Only Memory, for those new to computers) with each revision of the chip?
--
And you waste an IRQ and PCI slot for each one of them. And you still get two devices per channel, instead of 15. There's a big difference between 2 and 15.
--
That's what false contact information and JunkBuster is for! Did I mention it also keeps Netscape from ignoring its UI event queue while doing DNS lookups? It's fun for a girl and a boy.
--