Re: LFS strength

Eugene,

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006, [email protected] wrote:

> 
>    Brian,
> 
>    Couple of questions.
> 
>    Is it possible to link my modules with resulting LFS module so that
>    it will be one piece only? In the same manner as we can do with LiS.

That is what the strbcm package I started would do.  In fact you could
link LiS 2.18.0 objects to Linux Fast-STREAMS too!  The current approach
is slightly different than LiS: it generates a loadable kernel module
wrapper from the Config file, compiles the wrapper for the current
system and links the binary object with that wrapper and generates a
proper (.ko on 2.6) separate loadable kernel module.  It also creates
and installs init scripts for device generation and module loading, if
you choose not to mount the specfs device filesystem.

Why do you want to do this?  Are you looking for a release mechanism
whereby your users download some software and follow simple instructions
to add your object module and relink it for their system?  If that's the
case the BCM package can do this.

> 
>    Can  you  tell  if  LFS is being run by anyone in some real commercial
>    environment.

Yes.  It is being run in a telecommunications environment in the field.

>    On openss7 website it is designated as alpha, if I'm not mistaken.

The current release (0.7a.5) is beta.  See

	http://www.openss7.org/codefiles/streams-0.7a.5/README-alpha

The characteristics of OpenSS7 Project beta releases is described there
(tested, but not rigorously on all platforms and distributions).

>    So I'm just curious if LFS is industrial strength kind of software?

It is far more industrial strength than the alternative, LiS.  When the
software is in gamma release it can be validated for your target (or
your users can run the validation for their own target) to be fully
industrial strength.

The OpenSS7 Project's concept of industrial strength and that of other
OSS projects probably differ radically.  OpenSS7 considers something
stable only when it has been proven stable with testing.  See

	http://www.openss7.org/STREAMS_manual.html#Maturity

for a discussion on software maturity and release philosophy under the
OpenSS7 Project.  This is beta software.  It is more stable that LiS on
all platforms.  It is more stable that many OSS project's release
software.

Our LiS 2.18.3 release is unstable alpha (because it contains known
problems of a critical nature: i.e. kernel locks and crashes).

Some of the other releases are alpha release simply because I have not
had the time to run the regression tests on all distros and platforms.

--brian

> 
>     --
>    Eugene
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> References
> 
>    1. http://mail.netscape.com/

-- 
Brian F. G. Bidulock    ¦ The reasonable man adapts himself to the ¦
[email protected]    ¦ world; the unreasonable one persists in  ¦
http://www.openss7.org/ ¦ trying  to adapt the  world  to himself. ¦
                        ¦ Therefore  all  progress  depends on the ¦
                        ¦ unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw ¦