FreeBSD for Linux users

[Dan Pelleg]

Bill Moran <wmoran at potentialtech.com> writes:

> Ceri Davies wrote:
> > On Wed, Nov 26, 2003 at 03:25:37PM -0800, bri an wrote:
> >
> 
> >>I am a Work-study at a University. I have allot of
> >>staff using Redhat. I have been working on helping
> >>people move to Freebsd. I have been using it for a two
> >>months. I would love to help in anyway. I am not very
> >>versed in Freebsd, But I know how to RTFM. I can be a
> >>great tester to see what the document needs.
> > I think it needs writing. ;-)
> 
> > Seriously, on the doc team we are all long term FreeBSD users, and lack
> 
> > the newcomer perspective to write this document.  A list of pointers to
> > things that people migrating find difficult would be useful to start.
> 

[snip]

> 3) Hard-core admins are confused by the fact that so much config info is in
>     /etc/rc.conf.  They're even more confused by the fact that the rest of
>     the config is in /usr/local/etc

The location of the config directory isn't the only thing that looks
strange to them. The linux executables, as well, traditionally go in /bin
(or /sbin). It seems that someone migrating from linux would find it more
familiar to have ports' PREFIX set to / (instead of /usr/local). The
disadvantages are: 1. risk of filling the / slice (which is typically very
small on FreeBSD and very big on most linux distros). 2. a port file
overrunning a same-named file in the base system. Some people find it
easier to keep these two things in mind than to get used to the idea of
/usr/local.

Another thing that's a "freebsd annoyance" is the lack of init scripts for
base system services (this only holds in 4.X).

-- 

  Dan Pelleg