[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: off off topic: Unix lives or dies?








Gilad Gam
04/15/97 12:28 PM

I have an inferno CD that was given away at Usenix, about 3 months ago. If
anyone is interested, drop me a line.

Gilad.





reln @ cs.huji.ac.il
04/15/97 11:30 AM


Please respond to reln@cs.huji.ac.il

To:   iskandar @ EESUN2.tamu.edu
cc:   linux-il @ linux.org.il (bcc: Gilad Gam)
Subject:  Re: off off topic: Unix lives or dies?




On Mon, 14 Apr 1997, Alexandre Khalil wrote:

> If ATT puts the sources of Plan 9 in the public domain, it will
> certainly become very interesting.
> If that happens, I am sure the Linux folks will plan9ify Linux kernel
> 4.x and make an old-linux compatibility box to run older applications
> inside the new OS.

Last time I heard Plan9 development was discontinued, and a small group
inside AT&T, that developed a variant called Eclipse, took the leading
role. This is unconfirmed.

What should be nice is Inferno from Lucent Technologies (also developed
in Bell Labs). A few excerpts (See http://inferno.lucent.com/inferno/):

What is Inferno?

 Inferno(tm) is a new network operating system and programming
 environment to deliver content in a rich environment of
 heterogenous networks, clients and servers.

Inferno's definitive strength lies in its portability and versatility
across several dimensions:

      Portability across processors: it currently runs on Intel, Sparc,
MIPS, ARM, HP-PA, and AMD 29K architectures and is readily portable to
others.
      Portability across environments: it runs as a stand-alone operating
system on small terminals, and also as a user application under Windows
NT, Windows 95, Unix (Irix, Solaris, Linux, AIX, HP/UX) and Plan 9. In all
of these environments, Inferno applications see an identical interface.
      Distributed design: the identical environment is established at the
user's terminal and at the server, and each may import the resources of
the other; aided by the communications facilities of the run-time system,
applications may be split easily (and even dynamically) between client and
server.
      Minimal hardware requirements: it runs useful applications
stand-alone on machines with as little as 1 MB of memory, and does not
require memory-mapping hardware.
      Portable applications: Inferno applications are written in the
type-safe language Limbo(tm), whose binary representation is identical
over all platforms.
      Dynamic adaptability: applications may, depending on the hardware or
other resources available, load different program modules to perform a
specific function. For example, a video player application might use any
of several different decoder modules.

Regards,
Ariel

--
Ariel Nowersztern            Systems Programmer          reln@cs.huji.ac.il
Finger for GCode v3.1             Check out http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~reln/
"The best way to keep one's word is not to give it."  -- Napoleon Bonaparte