From: eric@tantalus.dell.com (Eric Youngdale) Subject: Re: Linux CDROM (Was stabilizing Linux) Date: 11 Aug 1992 14:35:35 GMT
In article <1992Aug11.004325.9409@unislc.uucp> erc@unislc.uucp (Ed Carp) writes:
>: With the linux disc, I would suspect that all of the FAQ and c.o.l.
>: archives will be on the disc, without taking up precious hard disk space. A
>: shared library update would mean just plucking the source for an application
>: off of the cdrom, recompile and then delete the sources from the hard disk.
>
>Is this for R/W CD-ROM drives? Linux is changing so fast that even *doing*
>a CD-ROM right now doesn't make a whole lot of sense, unless you have
>rewriteable optical capability.
It is true that linux is changing fast, but we have to keep in mind
that linux is quite usable as it is right now for many applications. It
appears as if the libraries have settled down quite a bit (back in june we were
getting a new version of gcc every week). It is true that there are a number
of kernel changes in the works, but we have to keep in mind that a lot of them
are fairly fine points. We could, for example, live with the fixed size
buffer cache, if we needed to, but there are performance advantages to
the dynamically sized buffer cache and variable size buffers. Similarily
Linus is talking about allowing a 3.75 Gb/process address space, increased
from the 64Mb that we currently have. The vast majority of people do not need
more than 64Mb - those that do will have to wait.
We also have to keep in mind that the linux/etc. cdrom will be
periodically updated, so we are by no means locked in to one particular
version. Also, if anyone is distributing a CDROM with a book, or whatever,
they could also in principle distribute a floppy with the latest kernel,
if they felt the need.
I know very little about the R/W optical discs. I believe that you
need a different drive, and a different type of disc.