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On Wednesday 25 September 2002 13:58, Greg Corcoran wrote: |
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> |
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> Excellent points! |
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> |
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> This means that the Integrators (the Gentoo developers) are really |
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> building the OS from parts from different suppliers. |
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> |
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> These parts are put together as defined by the "system" profile. This is |
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> the base OS. |
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> |
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> QED the proper name is: |
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> |
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> Gentoo(TM) OS |
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> |
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> Greg |
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> |
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You are right about the integrators. In the car analogy one could say that |
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assembly, tuning and distribution are done by diffent organizations such as: |
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Redhat, Debian, UnitedLinux, Gentoo Inc.. They by fashion tend to call their |
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producs X linux, where X is their name, but indeed Gentoo OS is just as valid |
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as Gentoo Linux or Gentoo GNU/Linux. To confuse things the collection of |
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different linux-engine based products is also called linux. To be short there |
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is the operating system/car that is (possibly) misnomed Linux, and there is |
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the kernel/engine that is also called linux. The fact that this kind of cars |
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is called linux is a given fact that cannot be neglected (just like it is a |
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fact that portable cd players are called discmans while that actually only |
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refers to the portable cd players sold by Sony corporation). |
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Does RMS have a point when he says that the car shouldn't be called only be |
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its engine. Yes, I think he does. The car is largely defined too by parts |
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from the GNU family of parts. Many of them as essential as the engine. (Car's |
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without steering or engine are just as useless as cars without an engine) One |
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point that does speak in favor of calling the car after the engine is that |
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the gears, and steering weel can be changed or even have multiple |
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simultaneous ones. Then one can use that gearbox that suits best for the |
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application of the car. For uphill driving one might want to use the glibc |
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gearbox, while for speed driving one might want to use a gearbox of a |
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different brand. For engines this is a little bit different. The linux engine |
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is a so-called macro-kernel. This means that a large part of the chasis is |
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welded to the engine and they form an integral part (as opposed to e.g. |
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mach/hurd). This means only one engine is possible at the time. Also because |
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the chasis forms an integral part of the car the body is directly connected |
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to the chasis/engine (Xfree - linux kernel (the display drivers, esp. dri)). |
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|
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Paul |
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|
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-- |
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Paul de Vrieze |
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Junior Researcher |
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Mail: pauldv@××××××.nl |
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Homepage: http://www.devrieze.net |
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