git: 214b337de3 - main - Upgrade myths page
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Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2022 18:29:38 UTC
The branch main has been updated by carlavilla:
URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/doc/commit/?id=214b337de3e2abdb9786693b948a6d6d1dd530c9
commit 214b337de3e2abdb9786693b948a6d6d1dd530c9
Author: Sergio Carlavilla Delgado <carlavilla@FreeBSD.org>
AuthorDate: 2022-06-25 18:28:01 +0000
Commit: Sergio Carlavilla Delgado <carlavilla@FreeBSD.org>
CommitDate: 2022-06-25 18:28:01 +0000
Upgrade myths page
* Use one sentence per line
* Upgrade FreeBSD age ;)
* Put a link to FreeBSD Foundation timeline
PR: 263403
Submitted by: Graham Perrin <grahamperrin (AT) gmail.com>
---
website/content/en/advocacy/myths.adoc | 60 ++++++++++++++++++++++++----------
1 file changed, 43 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-)
diff --git a/website/content/en/advocacy/myths.adoc b/website/content/en/advocacy/myths.adoc
index bd8a88e5cd..de1aa1df76 100644
--- a/website/content/en/advocacy/myths.adoc
+++ b/website/content/en/advocacy/myths.adoc
@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@ include::shared/en/urls.adoc[]
= FreeBSD Advocacy Project
-As the BSD projects (including DragonFlyBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD) have grown in size, a number of persistent myths have grown up around them. Some of these are perpetuated by well meaning but misguided individuals, others by people pursuing their own agendas.
+As the BSD projects (including DragonFlyBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD) have grown in size, a number of persistent myths have grown up around them.
+Some of these are perpetuated by well meaning but misguided individuals, others by people pursuing their own agendas.
This page aims to dispel those myths while remaining as dispassionate as possible.
-*Note:* Throughout this page, "*BSD" refers to all of the BSD Projects. Where a myth or response is specific to a particular project it is indicated as such.
+*Note:* Throughout this page, "*BSD" refers to all of the BSD Projects.
+Where a myth or response is specific to a particular project it is indicated as such.
If you are aware of an omission or error on this page, please let the mailto:doc@freebsd.org[FreeBSD Documentation Project mailing list] know.
@@ -33,7 +35,8 @@ If you are aware of an omission or error on this page, please let the mailto:doc
[[closed-model]]
=== Myth: *BSD has a closed development model, it's more "Cathedral" than "Bazaar"
-Eric Raymond wrote an influential paper, http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/["The Cathedral and the Bazaar"] in which the Linux development model (and the model Eric used for `fetchmail`) is held up as an example of how to do "open" development. By contrast, the model employed by *BSD is often characterized as closed.
+Eric Raymond wrote an influential paper, http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/["The Cathedral and the Bazaar"] in which the Linux development model (and the model Eric used for `fetchmail`) is held up as an example of how to do "open" development.
+By contrast, the model employed by *BSD is often characterized as closed.
The implicit value judgment is that "bazaar" (open) is good, and "cathedral" (closed) is bad.
@@ -55,16 +58,22 @@ There's none of the Linux fanfare every time a new kernel is released, simply be
Pointers to this system litter the documentation.
* Not everyone can commit code changes to the *BSD code. You need to be a _committer_ first. Typically, people are offered "commit privs" after they have made a few well-thought out submissions to the project using Bugzilla or similar.
+
-This is identical to the Linux mechanism. Only one person is (notionally) allowed to change the Kernel, Linus. But specific areas (such as the networking code) are delegated to other people.
+This is identical to the Linux mechanism.
+Only one person is (notionally) allowed to change the Kernel, Linus.
+But specific areas (such as the networking code) are delegated to other people.
+
-_Aside: Nik (nik@FreeBSD.org) is a case in point. After making several submissions to the FreeBSD Documentation Project and web pages, he was offered "commit privs" so that he did not have to keep bothering other committers to commit the changes. He never had to ask for them, they were freely given._
+_Aside: Nik (nik@FreeBSD.org) is a case in point.
+After making several submissions to the FreeBSD Documentation Project and web pages, he was offered "commit privs" so that he did not have to keep bothering other committers to commit the changes.
+He never had to ask for them, they were freely given._
'''
[[own-distro]]
=== Myth: You cannot make your own distributions or derivative works of *BSD
-You can. You just need to say in the documentation and source files where the code is derived from. Multiple derivative projects exist:
+You can.
+You just need to say in the documentation and source files where the code is derived from.
+Multiple derivative projects exist:
* http://www.dragonflybsd.org/[DragonflyBSD] started as a code fork from FreeBSD 4.X, but it has since its own user community and development goals.
* https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Gentoo_FreeBSD[Gentoo/FreeBSD] is an effort by the Gentoo Project to port their complete administration facilities to take advantage of the reliable FreeBSD kernel and userland. This project is purely incomplete and experimental.
@@ -85,16 +94,21 @@ Similarly to DragonflyBSD, OpenBSD was not a standalone project, it started as a
[[server]]
=== Myth: *BSD makes a great server, but a poor (UNIX(R)) desktop
-*BSD makes a great server. It also makes a great desktop. Many of the requirements for a server (responsiveness under load, stability, effective use of system resources) are the same requirements as for a desktop machine.
+*BSD makes a great server.
+It also makes a great desktop.
+Many of the requirements for a server (responsiveness under load, stability, effective use of system resources) are the same requirements as for a desktop machine.
-*BSD has access to the same desktop tools (KDE, GNOME, Firefox, windowmanagers) as Linux. And "office" applications such as LibreOffice suite work under *BSD too.
+*BSD has access to the same desktop tools (KDE, GNOME, Firefox, windowmanagers) as Linux.
+And "office" applications such as LibreOffice suite work under *BSD too.
'''
[[old-codebase]]
=== Myth: The BSD codebase is old, outdated, and dying
-While the BSD codebase may be more than 20 years old, it is neither outdated nor dying. Many professional users like the stability that years of testing has provided FreeBSD.
+While the BSD codebase is more than forty-four years old, it is neither outdated nor dying.
+Many professional users like the stability that years of testing has provided FreeBSD.
+A detailed timeline of the FreeBSD history can be checked in the link:https://freebsdfoundation.org/freebsd/timeline/[FreeBSD Foundation timeline].
link:../../features/[Technological enhancements] continue to be added to *BSD.
@@ -103,9 +117,14 @@ link:../../features/[Technological enhancements] continue to be added to *BSD.
[[bsd-war]]
=== Myth: The *BSD projects are at war with one another, splinter groups form each week
-No. While occasional advocacy may get a touch heated, the *BSD flavors continue to work with one another. FreeBSD's Alpha port was initially heavily based on the work done by the NetBSD team. Both NetBSD and OpenBSD used the FreeBSD ports collection to bootstrap their own port sets. FreeBSD and NetBSD both integrate security fixes first discovered by the OpenBSD team.
+No.
+While occasional advocacy may get a touch heated, the *BSD flavors continue to work with one another.
+FreeBSD's Alpha port was initially heavily based on the work done by the NetBSD team.
+Both NetBSD and OpenBSD used the FreeBSD ports collection to bootstrap their own port sets.
+FreeBSD and NetBSD both integrate security fixes first discovered by the OpenBSD team.
-The FreeBSD and NetBSD projects separated more than twenty years ago. OpenBSD and DragonflyBSD are the only new BSD projects to split off in the last twenty years.
+The FreeBSD and NetBSD projects separated more than twenty years ago.
+OpenBSD and DragonflyBSD are the only new BSD projects to split off in the last twenty years.
'''
@@ -136,21 +155,28 @@ The http://www.freebsdmall.com[FreeBSD Mall] also offer commercial support, alon
[[applications]]
=== Myth: There are no applications for *BSD
-The free software community started running on predominantly BSD systems (SunOS and similar). *BSD users can generally compile software written for these systems without needing to make any changes.
+The free software community started running on predominantly BSD systems (SunOS and similar).
+*BSD users can generally compile software written for these systems without needing to make any changes.
In addition, each *BSD project uses a "ports" system to make the building of ported software much easier.
-*FreeBSD:* There are currently more than 30,000 applications ready to download and install in the FreeBSD ports collection. On i386 and AMD64, the Linux emulation layer will also run the vast majority of Linux applications. On the AMD64 architectures there is a compatibility layer to run 32-bit FreeBSD binaries.
+*FreeBSD:* There are currently more than 30,000 applications ready to download and install in the FreeBSD ports collection.
+On i386 and AMD64, the Linux emulation layer will also run the vast majority of Linux applications.
+On the AMD64 architectures there is a compatibility layer to run 32-bit FreeBSD binaries.
*NetBSD:* The Linux emulation layer will run the vast majority of i386 Linux applications, and the majority of SunOS4 applications can be run on a SPARCStation.
-*OpenBSD:* There are currently more than 8000 applications ready to download and install in the OpenBSD ports collection. The Linux emulation layer will also run the vast majority of i386 Linux applications, and the majority of SunOS4 applications can be run on a SPARCStation.
+*OpenBSD:* There are currently more than 8000 applications ready to download and install in the OpenBSD ports collection.
+The Linux emulation layer will also run the vast majority of i386 Linux applications, and the majority of SunOS4 applications can be run on a SPARCStation.
-Both NetBSD and OpenBSD are able to use applications in FreeBSD's ports collection with minimal effort. Their lower number of ported applications reflects this.
+Both NetBSD and OpenBSD are able to use applications in FreeBSD's ports collection with minimal effort.
+Their lower number of ported applications reflects this.
-It is true that most companies when porting to PC Unix will choose Linux first. Fortunately, *BSD's Linux emulation layer will run these programs (Acrobat, StarOffice, Mathematica, WordPerfect, Quake, Intel ICC compiler, Compaq's Alpha compiler ...) with few, if any, problems.
+It is true that most companies when porting to PC Unix will choose Linux first.
+Fortunately, *BSD's Linux emulation layer will run these programs (Acrobat, StarOffice, Mathematica, WordPerfect, Quake, Intel ICC compiler, Compaq's Alpha compiler ...) with few, if any, problems.
-As a historical note, the first version of Netscape Navigator that ran on FreeBSD with Java support was the Linux version. These day you can also use a native FreeBSD version of Mozilla with a native Java plugin, all compiled conveniently from ports.
+As a historical note, the first version of Netscape Navigator that ran on FreeBSD with Java support was the Linux version.
+These day you can also use a native FreeBSD version of Mozilla with a native Java plugin, all compiled conveniently from ports.
'''