Plan 9? (+ others)

[Steven Bellovin]

``Plan 9'' is not a product, and is not intended to be.  It is research --
an experimental investigation into a different way of computing.  The
developers started from several basic assumptions:  that CPUs are very
cheap but that we don't really know how to combine them effectively; that
*good* networking is very important; that an intelligent user interface
(complete with dot-mapped display and mouse) is a Right Decision; that
existing systems with networks, mice, etc., are not the correct way to
do things, and in particular that today's workstations are not the way to
go.  (No, I won't bother to explain all their reasoning; that's a long
and separate article.)  Finally, the UNIX system per se is dead as a
vehicle for serious research into operating system structure; it has grown
too large, and is too constrained by 15+ years of history.

Now -- given those assumptions, they decided to throw away what we have
today and design a new system.  Compatibility isn't an issue -- they are
not in the product-building business.  (Nor are they in the ``let's make
another clever hack'' business.)  Of course aspects of Plan 9 resemble
the UNIX system quite strongly -- is it any surprise that Pike, Thompson,
et al., think that that's a decent model to follow?  But Plan 9 isn't,
and is not meant to be, a re-implementation of the UNIX system.  If you
want, call it a UNIX-like system.

Will Plan 9 ever be released?  I have no idea.  Will it remain buried?
I hope not.  Large companies do not sponsor large research organizations
just for the prestige; they hope for an (eventual) concrete return in the
form of concepts that can be made into (or incorporated into) products.


			--Steve Bellovin

Disclaimer:  this article is not, of course, an official statement from AT&T.
Nor is it an official statement of the reasoning behind Plan 9.  I do think
it's accurate, though, and I'm sure I'll be told if I'm wrong...