Soliciting Reviews on 4.2

[mike at Brl-Tgr.ARPA]

From:      Mike Muuss <mike at Brl-Tgr.ARPA>

Briefly, while there are some little things in the 4.2 Kernel that I would
like to change, I am generally quite pleased with the 4.2 Kernel.  With
virtually no hacking (except to add ^T support to the TTY driver), we have
found 4.2 to be quite usable.  The high-performance file system, and the
networking support, while not "perfect", I would rank as "super!".

If you find the new signal mechanism annoying, I remind you that I posted a
simple, ~10 line kernel fix which allows you to selectively return to the
old semantics.

If you are looking for a system on which to build future sorties into the
forefront of computer science, and you wish to have UNIX involved in that
effort, then the system you desire is 4.2 BSD.

If you desire to build or use a system which will be slower to respond to
the demands of improving technology (eg, virtual memory, networking, fast
disks, etc), but will provide guaranteed STABILITY, then the system you want
is System V.  Seriously.

On the subject of Berkeley user-mode hacks:

While things like "cat -u", and "ls -[a-zA-Z]" tend to sting my sense of
parsimony, they are triffling things, mostly, and are irritating only
because they are different.  But I'm hardly motivated to chop them out --
what is done is done, I have better things to build.  And as for /usr/ucb,
there are some neat hacks in there, sometimes ugly inside, but we don't find
ourselved using them a whole lot, with the definite exception of the r*
"remote" utilities (rcp, rsh, rlogin, etc), and some of the status utilities
(w/uptime, vmstat, etc).

And again, a plug:

The way to get the best of both worlds is to use BRL's "System V under 4.2
BSD" package, developed by Doug Gwyn here at BRL.  This allows you to
benefit from the improved performance of 4.2 BSD, utilize the networking
features, play with 4.2 wizbangs as desired, and (if desired) remain in the
sheltered, stable, System V environment to build "marketable" code.  (I say
this because most vendors are either selling System V, or a 4.2/Sys V blend.
All our code is public domain, so we choose the environment which makes the
most sense for the project).

I note in passing that BRL's "System V under 4.2 BSD" is availible from BRL
either as an "add on", or in a fully documented, full-distribution format
(just like the 4.2 distribution, only 4 reels long).  You provide the
licenses (4.2 + Sys V) and the tapes, and the rest is free.  (Your tax
dollars at work).  [Please contact me before sending tapes].

Best,
 -Mike Muuss

(301)-278-6678		(1400-2400 EST)
  AV  283-6678
  FTS 939-6678

ArpaNet:  Mike @ BRL
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Postal:
  Mike Muuss
  Leader, Advanced Computer Systems Team
  Computer Techniques and Analysis Branch
  Systems Engineering and Concepts Analysis Division
  U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory
  Attn: DRSMC-BLB (Muuss)
  APG, MD  21005