different distributions == different "operating systems"?
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From: J G Miller on 16 Feb 2010 12:19 On Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 17:06:41h +0000, Ray wrote: > GNU Hurd is or was under development - did/does not use the Linux > kernel. It is still hanging in there, so GNU/Hurd *does* use the Hurd kernel, and there is the Debian GNU/Hurd distribution. <http://www.debian.ORG/ports/hurd/> Similarly, Debian kFreeBSD uses the FreeBSD kernel but with GNU software and the other Debian packages. <http://www.debian.ORG/ports/kfreebsd-gnu/>
From: AZ Nomad on 16 Feb 2010 12:43 On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:19:50 +0100, J G Miller <miller(a)yoyo.ORG> wrote: >On Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 17:06:41h +0000, Ray wrote: >> GNU Hurd is or was under development - did/does not use the Linux >> kernel. >It is still hanging in there, so GNU/Hurd *does* use the Hurd kernel, >and there is the Debian GNU/Hurd distribution. > <http://www.debian.ORG/ports/hurd/> >Similarly, Debian kFreeBSD uses the FreeBSD kernel but with GNU software >and the other Debian packages. > <http://www.debian.ORG/ports/kfreebsd-gnu/> "GNU software" isn't a "GNU OS". You can build much gnu software to run on solaris or even win32. Doesn't make it an operating system.
From: Magnus Warker on 16 Feb 2010 13:15 Dear Aragorn, nice article! Aragorn wrote: > A kernel in itself is not of much use, so you need userspace software - > which runs in the lowest privilege mode of the processor - to run on > top of that. This userspace software consists of the userland of what > is normally considered an operating system, added with application > software. I think there exist different definitions of the term 'operating system'. If you focus on the core functionalities like process and memory management and things like that, you reduce it to the kernel itself. But even if you include the whole userland into the definition, I cannot really see notable differences between the popular distributions. The biggest differences may lie in the package management system. However, let me concretise the initial question and the context: Consider a data center providing many services some of which are based on linux systems, i. e. there is a set of services (applications) and each service is built on top of a linux system. Now ask the question: How many linux distributions are needed for the data center to work? Well, I think, if the answer is more than one, then the data center has a problem. If you have applications designed for "linux", but you need Debian for the first, SLES for the second and Ubuntu for the next, and if you *really* need them, then the applications must be either poorly designed or the vendor limits support to certain operating systems. In any case you have a problem. This was just the point: Does this data center really need different linux 'operating systems'? Or are we just talking about different environments or configurations or just support conditions? Magnus
From: John Hasler on 16 Feb 2010 13:24 AZ Nomad writes: > Can you name a single instance of a distro that is "gnu os" and > doesn't use the linux kernel? <http://www.debian.org/ports/kfreebsd-gnu/> <http://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/> <http://www.nexenta.org/> -- John Hasler jhasler(a)newsguy.com Dancing Horse Hill Elmwood, WI USA
From: The Natural Philosopher on 16 Feb 2010 15:51
Magnus Warker wrote: > Hi, > > I lately talked to a collegue who said that Debian, Ubuntu and SLES are > different "operating systems". I said that there is only one linux (at > www.kernel.org) and that these are just distributions with different > packages and package management solutions. But he insisted that there are > also different operating systems. > > Well, I know that SuSE makes changes to the kernel for some reasons. Could > it be that he meant such things that make a unique operating system? What > dou you think? > Define 'different'.... > Magnus |