FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: Waiting and waiting

["Michael Phipps" <mphipps1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK - there is a little confusion here...

The interface between the C++ libraries and the servers will be different. The 
interface between some of the kits and the kernel will be different - R5 has 
some custom interfaces to the R5 kernel.

HOWEVER. The USER LAND compatability is all there, so far. Nothing, AFAIK, has 
been lost. The only thing that this means is that some pieces of OBOS can't run 
properly under R5. The Input Kit can't replace R5's input kit. Because there is 
an undocumented interface between Input_Server and App_Server. The Network Kit 
and the Print Kit may well have had undocumented interfaces. Again - those 
can't be easily replicated. 

But regular userland software should just work. All of BeBits, etc. The only 
thing that is not do-able that we have found so far is replacing piecemeal. 
While that is not what we had hoped for, Be didn't make things quite as easy to 
remove in chunks as we assumed; different Be engineers warned me/us about this 
from the beginning. This is not really a backing away from our goal, just a 
speed bump. ;-)


alan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx said:
So things like Tracker will have to be ported? 
 
It seems that you are getting further away from the original goal of 
binary compatible interchangable parts with BeOS. 
 
Alan 

Matt Verran <matt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:
>Axel / Michael
>
>Somehow your answers don't mesh.... Michael states it could, while Axel 
>states it won't.... 
>
>Is r5 binary compatibility going to be at system level, or server 
>level?
>
>Keep up the great work guys,
>Matt

Axel Dörfler  <axeld@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:
We have a kernel, it's just not finished ;-) 
But anyway, we won't be able to use the old BeOS with the new kernel -  
the private interfaces won't be compatible at all. We'll set up the  
whole system at once. 
 
Adios... 
   Axel.