In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
<newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:11:30 +0100
<5047711.jWUa22xISf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> __/ [ The Ghost In The Machine ] on Monday 23 April 2007 20:42 \__
>
>> In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Jim Richardson
>> <warlock@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote
>> on Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:22:59 -0700
>> <35avf4-u19.ln1@xxxxxxxxxxx>:
>>>
>>> On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:02:28 +0100,
>>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>> __/ [ Jim Richardson ] on Thursday 19 April 2007 05:32 \__
>>>>
>>
>> [snippage]
>>
>>>>> hardware detection and support isn't good enough yet :)
>>>>
>>>> They can borrow from the upstream though. How about SUSE Linux?
>>>>
>>>
>>> ??? Vista doesn't *have* an upstream.
>>>
>>
>> No, but it most definitely has a downside....
>>
>> *Ow* *ptoot* *splat* What's everyone throwing at me! *ptoink*
>>
>> :-)
>
> Microsoft hasn't a modular O/S, but it has filed a patent indicating plans
> for change (it's too late of course). You see, with Linux, a rotten
> version/branch can take you to a different package/version/variant. With
> Windows, on the other hand, it's all or nothing. In 2005 Longhorn got
> tossed. Many years of work were lost.
>
I'm not entirely sure of that. I suspect that Windows (the
environment, not the OS proper) is trying to be modular,
and there are some pieces of ick one can pick out of the
mouldy mix. For starters, there's WinInet, which is a
foundation for IE and primarily interested in actually
doing the network I/O for the pages. (I saw hints that
it is being replaced by WinHTTP at some point.)
Of course WinInet is probably just a library. :-) But
I suspect WinFS is also a library, and WinFX will be
"slipped in" at some point, much like WinHTTP is now;
Win32 will eventually just sit on WinFX.
I'm not entirely sure what a modular OS *is* at this point.
OS-9 is occasionally mentioned, for instance, but I don't
know the details as to how it factors the userapp/kernel
interface. Even Linux isn't that highly monolithic,
although there's a fair amount that is "always there"
-- the skeleton holding the meat (modules) as it were,
that modules can depend on (e.g., interrupt support).
But if one doesn't want or need a file system, don't build
it or load it, if it's enabled as a module. Ditto for
many devices.
Microsoft isn't that dissimilar, although the actual
connectivity is vastly different (and most of it is hidden
from the casual user).
One of the more amusing demonstrations is a change in
Win95 that made it only play Solitaire, by tweaking the
WIN.INI file. Presumably, one can today tweak Vista's
registry to do the same. (Why anyone would want to, well,
that's a question only the tweaker can answer.)
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Useless C++ Programming Idea #23291:
void f(item *p) { if(p != 0) delete p; }
--
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