Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!ncc!alberta!access!edm!rroot From: rroot@edm.UUCP (uucp) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: OS/2 is the result of anticompetitive practices by IBM and Microsoft Message-ID: <3094@edm.UUCP> Date: 7 May 88 16:25:17 GMT References: <1612@looking.UUCP> Organization: Unexsys Systems, Edmonton,AB. Lines: 54 From article <1612@looking.UUCP>, by brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton): .... > Like I said, it's not an easy target that is being aimed at, and OS/2 > misses in many of the following places, but here are areas where Unix > would require a total rewrite to hit dead on: > > a) Administration - this has been discussed a lot, so I won't My friend (edm!neyessa!root) owns an old altos system. Administration needs are almost NIL (once a month, he automatically generates usage stats for our enjoyment) > b) File system integrity: > Unix can't just be turned on and off with a switch like > DOS can, and like users expect. If SYNCs were automatically done whenever the file system was quiescent, this would not be a problem. I really don't know why this isn't done now. > c) Fragmented file systems: > Unix fragments file systems heavily, and that means you Use the BSD file system: It handles (prevents) fragmentation reasonably well. (normal MS-DOS/OS-2 has the same problems as the bell FS anyways) > d) Running DOS programs I've never worried about this, so no coment > e) Real time > DOS programs can do real time applications because they > own the machine. Not so under Unix Basically true for MS-DOS, and false for OS-2. RT work could PROBABLY be done under UNIX (starting with the ability to lock an RT process into memory). Then again, the fact that you DON'T "own the machine" makes it a LOT harder to install a virus. > f) Easy device driver installation. > Typical DOS machines, if they get fancy, have special > peripherals, all with their own drivers. All unusual > .... dynamic mount, but better than relinking the kernel and rebooting. No big problem here. SYSV seems to have runtime-loadable drivers (both the 3B1 and the Convergent Technologies box I am on now seem to have this capability) > g) Still run software for the old filesystem, and still use old disks. Backwards compatibility is fine, but keeping it the standard is, as you said, dumb. > h) Convenient floppy disk use See my answer to b): The same answer applies here. > Some of these things could be fixed with mods, but some of them require > essentially an entire rewrite. As my answers indicate, most of these things can be handled with changes to the device drivers (Hmm, even the fs compatibility could be kludged with a cute device driver -- Then again, I don't think I really want to think about it). Only the RT stuff is a problem, and even that has been solved by some people (albeit with non-trivial changes to UNIX). -- ------------- Stephen Samuel {ihnp4,ubc-vision,vax135}!alberta!edm!steve or userzxcv@uqv-mts.bitnet