🚀 go-pugleaf

> In article <3aqlrm$81s@admin5.hsc.uth.tmc.edu>,
> jmaynard@admin5.hsc.uth.tmc.edu (Jay Maynard) writes:

>> In article <BRUCE.94Nov21152401@iasc3.scm.liv.ac.uk>,
>>  <bruce@liverpool.ac.uk> wrote:

>> It isn't.  It just happens that a scheme-like language is nicer as the
>> low level interface.
 
> IYHO.
 
>> Developers will have a number of translators (or
>> similar) available so that they can program in elisp, something
>> Tcl-like (a procedural language), something C-like, etc., if they
>> don't like scheme.
 
> Scheme, and other languages with Lots of Irritating Spurious Parentheses,
> are truly bletcherous. Even if you offer translators, chances are that
> people will still have to resort to Scream to do some things.
> 
> Dammit, people, you're doing Unix. Why not _do_ Unix? Like it or not, the
> people who will flock to YAFAUC (for that's what the Hurd is, at this point)
> are going to be Unix weenies...who, generally, like C and hate LISP.

As I understand the Hurd, it's the Mach operating system with the C library
and the ability to create numerous virtual sessions.  Each virtual session
will have it's own device drivers (not embedded in the OS like Linux, but
as add-ons like DOS) and it's own CLI and/or GUI.  The C library creates the
common API that is familiar to programmers on most Unix-type systems.  It
will allow current software to be ported to the Hurd rather easily.

All of this taken together is rather nice.  You can call it Unix if you
like, but if the C library is replaced with a DOS-like emulation library
then what would it be?  If you have the C library, but a DOS-like CLI then
what would it be?  What if there is no C library or any "emulation" library,
would it just be Mach?  The separation of each of the key components makes
for an interesting and very flexible OS.

To be so narrowly focused that one can only see Unix and csh isn't necessary.
There can be (and hopefully will be) many flavors of the Hurd.

I only hope the Hurd doesn't require a gigabyte of RAM.  I'd like to be
able to run it on my 4MB 80486 PC.


Mark S. Hathaway       <hathawa2@marshall.edu>