FreeBSD

[Peter Korsten]

Op 29-1-2010 21:24, The Dong schreef:

> Anyone used this OS?

Yes, extensively so.

> Is it similar to Linux, but a very early branch, or completely separate?

It has very little to do with Linux, other than superficial 
similarities. They're both free Unix-like operating systems, with a 
different interpretation of what 'free' means. In FreeBSD, it means that 
you can basically do anything with it, whereas in Linux you can do 
anything that the GPL allows.

FreeBSD comes from BSD 4.4 (or was that 4.3?) sources, and is related to 
OpenBSD, NetBSD and even the commercial BSD versions. Linux is written 
by a Finn with a funny name.

Other than that, Linux was originally just a kernel with a bunch of FSF 
tools (because they had 'a little trouble' getting HURD ready), whereas 
FreeBSD has always been a full OS with a proper Bourne shell instead of 
a Korn shell, the real vi instead of vim, etc.

FreeBSD is still very much alive today, and 10 years ago at least, 
serious internet sites would run on FreeBSD rather than Linux. But Linux 
has big money behind it, which is one reason why it runs on practically 
anything more intelligent than a toaster.

> I have (old) source code for a MOTU Express XT driver for FreeBSD.
> Might it be possible to port a driver from BSD to Linux?

It's certainly possible; how *feasible* it is depends on the quality of 
the source code. Is it well documented? Are there many bugs? In the 
worst case, you have to figure out how a device driver in FreeBSD works, 
figure out what each call in this driver does, and then rewrite it for 
Linux.

It would be easier to just install FreeBSD, but audio support is 
minimal, and there's no way you can run things like Ardour, unless 
you're very persistent (or masochistic).

- Peter