3 ms·

I think it's more the bugs, which tend to show up in kernel code, and the ability to extend the compiler with security features, which is difficult in the rathe

I think it's more the bugs, which tend to show up in kernel code, and the ability to extend the compiler with security features, which is difficult in the rather hairy gcc code. OpenBSD used a custom gcc 2.95 derived compiler for ages because of bug fixes and their security extensions.

stevan 17y ago
An other problem is when GCC drops architecture support -- say some old arch which Linux doesn't run on but which the BSDs do -- then the BSDs are forced to maintain multiple old versions of GCC...
- ajross 17y ago
  Which architectures are those? And this is a FreeBSD announcement, which has a much more limited port list than NetBSD.
  - silentbicycle 17y ago
    Here are the hardware platforms that OpenBSD runs on (http://openbsd.org/plat.html http://openbsd.org/plat.html). Not as many as NetBSD, but several. Porting a program that was written primarily with (say) i386 Debian Linux in mind to other platforms is a great way to find bugs due to incorrect assumptions. They may be asymptomatic on systems with 32-bit processors, the same endian-ness, etc., but they're just lying dormant. Patches from porting and the OpenBSD security audits are contributed upstream, too.
  - bensummers 17y ago
    OpenBSD != FreeBSD. Very different beasts.
wendroid 17y ago
Once upon a time Theo was considering the Plan9 tool chain for the OpenBSD project. Sadly Lucent's lawyers proved not too adept and writing software licenses in what was a brave new world of OSS. http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.plan9/browse_thread/thread/d23e576bf06efdfb/fc507f608c6f668c?q=theo+raadt+group:comp.os.plan9#fc507f608c6f668c http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.plan9/browse_thread/t... The previous license was worse, it had a "make any modifications and you have to send them back to Lucent" clause. Theo was right and the world was robbed and the now the compilers are available in either GPL, LGPL, Lucent or MIT license form from the Vita Nuova Inferno project. http://www.vitanuova.com/inferno/downloads.html http://www.vitanuova.com/inferno/downloads.html http://www.vitanuova.com/inferno/contents.html http://www.vitanuova.com/inferno/contents.html And a hybrid license through Plan9Ports http://swtch.com/plan9port/ http://swtch.com/plan9port/ What a fuck up.

stevan 17y ago

An other problem is when GCC drops architecture support -- say some old arch which Linux doesn't run on but which the BSDs do -- then the BSDs are forced to maintain multiple old versions of GCC...

ajross 17y ago
Which architectures are those? And this is a FreeBSD announcement, which has a much more limited port list than NetBSD.
- silentbicycle 17y ago
  Here are the hardware platforms that OpenBSD runs on (http://openbsd.org/plat.html http://openbsd.org/plat.html). Not as many as NetBSD, but several. Porting a program that was written primarily with (say) i386 Debian Linux in mind to other platforms is a great way to find bugs due to incorrect assumptions. They may be asymptomatic on systems with 32-bit processors, the same endian-ness, etc., but they're just lying dormant. Patches from porting and the OpenBSD security audits are contributed upstream, too.
- bensummers 17y ago
  OpenBSD != FreeBSD. Very different beasts.

wendroid 17y ago

Once upon a time Theo was considering the Plan9 tool chain for the OpenBSD project. Sadly Lucent's lawyers proved not too adept and writing software licenses in what was a brave new world of OSS. http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.plan9/browse_thread/thread/d23e576bf06efdfb/fc507f608c6f668c?q=theo+raadt+group:comp.os.plan9#fc507f608c6f668c http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.plan9/browse_thread/t... The previous license was worse, it had a "make any modifications and you have to send them back to Lucent" clause. Theo was right and the world was robbed and the now the compilers are available in either GPL, LGPL, Lucent or MIT license form from the Vita Nuova Inferno project. http://www.vitanuova.com/inferno/downloads.html http://www.vitanuova.com/inferno/downloads.html http://www.vitanuova.com/inferno/contents.html http://www.vitanuova.com/inferno/contents.html And a hybrid license through Plan9Ports http://swtch.com/plan9port/ http://swtch.com/plan9port/ What a fuck up.