FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: Open BeOS

["J. Grant" <jg-lists@xxxxxxxx>]

I seem to have never received Imre Leber's email.  It was not in my spam 
filter either; how bizarre.

on the 18/10/03 17:29, Adam K Kirchhoff wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Oct 2003, Imre Leber wrote:
>
> > > If NewOS/BeOS kernel is self contained and POSIX complaint I see no
> > > reason not to try it with GNU.  After all, other kernels work well with
> > > GNU (Linux, Hurd and NetBSD spring to mind).  If NewOS/BeOS kernel has a
> > > modern design, is efficient and complete I expect it could be slotted
> > > into a GNU system.  If it is better than the competition it could become
> > > a popular alternative too.
> > >
> > But we don't want for OBOS to be a replacement for linux, linux is a
> > command line operating system (with some very basic graphics support).
> >
> > BeOS wants to be a *real* desktop operating system and for that we can
> > hardly use any of the command line GNU tools.
>
> Excuse me, but aren't all/most of the command line tools that shipped with
> R5 GNU?

My GNU/Linux computers proceed directly to a graphical environment after 
boot up. (I believe since around 1998 GUI has been my default).  I seem 
to remember BeOS having a Console Debugging mode which looked similar to 
the linux kernel booting display.  Are there keys to trigger this mode 
that I can press during boot up?

My query referring to the OBOS kernel was making the assumption that 
each core component of OBOS is distinct.

In the same way that the linux kernel loads and starts init which 
bootstraps the rest of the GNU system, does the OBOS kernel load and 
starts a bunch of daemons and then desktop?  Is there an online document 
detailing the boot up process at all?

If the OBOS kernel is POSIX compliant, I don't see a reason why it could 
not be used with the GNU system.  I'm really interested in learning what 
is done better in the OBOS kernel than the Linux kernel and also the way 
the OS manages processes etc etc.

Writing a complete replacement for BeOS5 must be a very large task. 
Will OBOS take advantage of mature free software, like the GNU C library 
etc?

Kind regards

Jg