[NCLUG] FreeBSD versus Linux?

[Steve Lowe]

Alan Silverstein said:
> Could anyone here please give me a brief education on how FreeBSD
> relates to Linux?

http://www.freebsd.org/projects/newbies.html will give you a good overview
of FreeBSD. Basically FreeBSD evolved from Berkeley UNIX, whereas Linux
was built from scratch although heavily influenced by Minix. Both FreeBSD
and Linux look and feel like real UNIX, due largely to fact that both use
a large subset of the GNU tools. In fact, if Richard Stallman had his way,
Linux would commonly be referred to GNU/Linux...but that's another story.

> For odd reasons, I went looking for open sources for the old reliable
> "mailx" program.  I found a recent Debian version and got it to compile
> on FreeBSD (at frii.com), but it wasn't easy.  And at runtime it wants
> /usr/libexec/lockspool, which is absent.  Clearly there are some
> disappointing dialect issues here.
>
> Next I went hunting for a FreeBSD version of mailx.  Well I found the
> very nice www.freebsd.org site, but best I can tell, all it offers is
> the kernel/OS, no commands.  (So where did FRII get their commands
> sources?)

This makes no sense. The FreeBSD distribution is a complete UNIX-like
opeating system, 'commands' included. Have a look at the FAQ for more
info:
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/faq/index.html FRII got
the 'commands' by installing FreeBSD on their servers, same way you'd get
em if you were to install it.

>
> I'm having no luck finding the "FreeBSD version of mailx", only some
> references to the fact it might exist, as in, "ported their bug fixes
> back."


http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html
Lists all the software created for or ported to FreeBSD.  Scroll down to
'mail' and follow that link. mailx is there.

>
> Thanks,
> Alan Silverstein


All the links I posted are linked to from the main www.freebsd.org page,
so basically RTFM :)

To me it looks like you're asking how FreeBSD deals with software versus
how  Linux deals with software. That could be a Master's Thesis becaue
there's a large variety of methods in use in the Linux community (deb,
rpm, yast..) versus the ports system used by FreeBSD. Look at the FAQ for
more.

Also, the Debian project is working on a Debianized FreeBSD distribution,
but it's a ways off yet: http://www.debian.org/ports/freebsd/

HTH!

----
Steve