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Why does replacing Linux seem like a good idea to you? That would mean rewriting billions of lines of code written for Linux. Operating systems include lots of
by gregjor 2y ago
Why does replacing Linux seem like a good idea to you? That would mean rewriting billions of lines of code written for Linux.
Operating systems include lots of libraries and drivers. Programmers write code that depends on OS-level functionality.
Before Unix every computer manufacturer had their own proprietary OS, specific to their hardware. While that did lead to some innovation and competition, it also made changing hardware platforms risky and expensive.
Rob Pike wrote about this 25 years ago:
https://doc.cat-v.org/bell_labs/utah2000/utah2000.pdf https://doc.cat-v.org/bell_labs/utah2000/utah2000.pdf
- mococa 2y agoMost of lines are drivers, cloud servers does not need then.
- gregjor 2y agoReally? The cloud servers I use have networking stacks, drivers for various block storage devices, drivers for character-oriented devices (terminals), maybe GPU drivers. Running in the cloud means the hardware got virtualized, not that it went away from the OS point of view. A Linux cloud server appears to have disk drives and ethernet cards.
- rstuart4133 2y agoThen don't compile in the drivers. This is the usual approach on embedded systems such as openwrt where flash storage is a precious resource. The Linux build system has a configuration system, complete with it's own UI, dedicated for doing just that. If that's your only reason there is no need for a new OS - Linux already does it. But usually you don't bother. You just compile everything as modules, and Linux only loads the modules for the hardware it discovers. Doing creates zero long term overhead, except for the storage space the modules consume on disk. Disk is near free in cloud systems.