And I should also: 4) a permissive license. It is interesting that Linus choose the GPL (more restrictive than other opensource licenses), I wonder how things would have turned out had he chosen a more permissive BSD-style license. Would Linux have exploded the way it has? Or would elements of Linux have quietly been used in Windows code (like the BSD-licensed networking stack in the Windows kernel) without anything being given back to the community? Hard to tell. Saidi PS @aki, I hope that helps. On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 1:47 PM, saidimu apale <saidimu@gmail.com> wrote:
@aki, I followed your thread for only a short while, and missed your questions. But here's my limited response:
- Minix was/is a microkernel, Linus made linux a monolithic kernel. This is still an extemely hotly-debated issue, with Tanenbaum (the minix creator) and Linus basically tearing each other apart. Depending on who you talk to: microkernels are slow (because of the overhead of message passing); monolithic kernels are bloated/buggy/inefficient/inelegant.
- It is hard to pin down the reasons for the uptake of Linux, but it surely had to be affected by the propietary wars between all the various Unix flavors.
- Linus only built a kernel, for all the other tools he used existing GNU libraries (compilers, editors, linkers etc etc etc). That is why Stallman hates it when people refuse to call it GNU/Linux (to emphasis that it really used *a lot* of existing GNU tools).
Perhaps the biggest lesson (for me) is that a successful opensource project requires: 1) a *solitary* champion 2) a working codebase/prototype for others to be interested in, play with and ultimately build on 3) a *benevolent* dictator who can avoid paralysis-by-committee
Saidi
On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 1:33 PM, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 10:44 AM, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:
Those who are serious Linux followers, please add you thoughts as to what Linus from scratch, what changes he made ( he talks about minix as a comparison ) and how then did the process take off. Was it just because of AT compatible computers that saw linux become what it is? I know I can get the info but am depending on those who are hard core linux to share their views. :-)
I think this can be an interesting case study to build upon in time to come and would like you to share the journey of understanding and probably looking into his mind as he was at that stage.
Rgds.
Eessshhhh!...... What kind of Linux people are on this list? Kwani all the flame throwers of linux have no clue what the founder did? Woooah! Kweli, tuko na shida. :-)) Linux listers, this thread was not a bashing etc but an in depth study. Ahh well, some other time then. :-)
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