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FreeBSD didn't support shared libraries while Linux did, and that made a huge difference trying to run X11 on the 386 systems of the time, specifically because
by rwmj 4y ago
FreeBSD didn't support shared libraries while Linux did, and that made a huge difference trying to run X11 on the 386 systems of the time, specifically because of hard disk space required.
- dekhn 4y agolinux's shared libraries were pretty limited in '94- I forget the technical reason but it had to do with runtime linker not being able to compute unique addresses for each .so, and so they sort of had to be assigned "ranges" that a particular .so owned (https://www.linux.co.cr/free-unix-os/review/1994/0914-a.html https://www.linux.co.cr/free-unix-os/review/1994/0914-a.html). Probably a.out vs. ELF.
- rwmj 4y agoYup, that was the limitation of the old a.out format. ELF was a breath of fresh air, but it didn't arrive until after Linux 1.2.