Should There Be A Unified BSD Operating System?

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Should There Be A Unified BSD Operating System?

There's a call for unification of the four largest *BSD operating systems in a move to create a "unified BSD" with the best features in order to better compete with GNU/Linux...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTIyNzY

[birdie]

Won't happen - whereas Linux distros at least have the same kernel, the same source packages, similar packaging systems, BSD's are like totally different OSes (at least they are POSIX compatible).

[staalmannen]

People that call for unification do the mistake that they think that 1+1 always = 2. This is definitely not the case in large projects the so-called fragmentation can in fact _speed up_ development since many alternative solutions are tried out in prarallel. Successful solutions will find their way into the other systems if they are attractive enough. The important thing is that "cultism" and NIH attitudes are kept to a minimum so that those alternative solutions get a fair evaluation.

Just to note 1 thing, FreeBSD in their quest to get rid of the last remnants of GPL in their base system have imported a number of utilities from NetBSD and OpenBSD. Another is the use of NetBSD pkgsrc in DragonFly BSD (and others).

[0xCAFE]

an independent user has written

= a random troll has written on a mailing list

[Cthulhux]

Should There Be A Unified BSD Operating System?

No.

Won't happen - whereas Linux distros at least have the same kernel, the same source packages, similar packaging systems

They don't.

(Also, BSDs share kernels - FreeBSD, PC-BSD, Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, ... - and packaging systems - pkgsrc and pkg_add.)

[BitRot]

(Also, BSDs share kernels - FreeBSD, PC-BSD, Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, ... - and packaging systems - pkgsrc and pkg_add.)

That's not correct. PC-BSD is "merely" FreeBSD with a different installer and pre-installed software and configuration.
Also, the "4 major" BSDs don't share a kernel, they are vastly different. Different kernel from FreeBSD is one of the reasons of DragonflyBSD's existence.
FreeBSD uses pkg as the new binary package manager, PC-BSD PBIs, from NetBSD comes pkgsrc etc.

[mark45]

Any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.

If the headline asks a question, try answering 'no'. Is This the True Face of Britain's Young? (Sensible reader: No.) Have We Found the Cure for AIDS? (No; or you wouldn't have put the question mark in.) Does This Map Provide the Key for Peace? (Probably not.) A headline with a question mark at the end means, in the vast majority of cases, that the story is tendentious or over-sold. It is often a scare story, or an attempt to elevate some run-of-the-mill piece of reporting into a national controversy and, preferably, a national panic. To a busy journalist hunting for real information a question mark means 'don't bother reading this bit'.

[Cthulhux]

That's not correct. PC-BSD is "merely" FreeBSD with a different installer and pre-installed software and configuration.

And an identical kernel and packaging system.

FreeBSD uses pkg as the new binary package manager, PC-BSD PBIs, from NetBSD comes pkgsrc etc.

PC-BSD uses pkg and PBIs.
DragonflyBSD uses pkgsrc, too.

So now what?

[halfmanhalfamazing]

I don't mean by distro, I mean by identifiability and userbase. The BSD devs should join the linux fold, wherever they end up. So too should disparate Solaris devs, and devs of other disparate OSs.

We need their help! They're clearly gifted and capable developers.

Last I heard, BSD was losing users, not gaining them. They should consider writing software where there is a growing userbase.(even if realistically, that user base growth is slow. It's still growth)

As an aside: I do think there's an argument to be made that there's too many linux distributions as well, but on a whole having multiple distros and a choice of them is a good thing.

[Cthulhux]

Last I heard, BSD was losing users, not gaining them.

Why should elitists couple with ordinary persons?