Re: MiNT goes UNiX, invitation for mailing list (MINTOS)

[Christian Lynbech <lynbech@daimi.aau.dk>]

> > - Perhaps some standards for how to port software, such that rather
> >   than just using `#ifdef atari' when making some (unix incompatible)
> >   changes, one should use something like:
> > 
> > 	`#if defined(atari) && !defined(MINTOS)'
> > 
> >   so that we unix freaks will not loose the unix way of doeing things,
> >   unless we insist.
> 
> I think that
> 
> 	#ifdef __MINT__
> 
> would look better, once it's clear that the MiNT library shall be used
> in the distribution.  We don't need another "MINTOS" libc, do we?

Hopefully not, as the mintlib is slowly working its way towards posix,
and it will be hard to improve on that.

But when people are porting things, even to mint, they do from time to
time make unix-incompatible decisions. For instance, in the tcsh port,
the startup files has been renamed from .cshrc to cshrc.csh, which is
all fine for those without minixfs, but I would porters to distinguish
between the actions necessary to make a program run, and the stuff
neede to make compatable with TOS, the gnulibs and so on.

> BTW, I don't like the name "MINTOS".  ;-)

Nor me, but that would perhaps be the first major job for the "MiNT
goes UNIX" project. Perhaps also to find a catchy name for the project.

In fact one could reverse my original suggestion and write something like

 #if defined(atari) && defined(TOSFS)

to state the fact that the following is only for those insisting on
TOS compability. But some standard for this surely would be nice,
though a standard in it self would not be enough. The next phase for
the project would then be to make sure that there are ports of the
different utilities that conforms to the projects standards.


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Christian Lynbech               | Hit the philistines three times over the 
office: R0.33 (phone: 3217)	| head with the Elisp reference manual.
email: lynbech@daimi.aau.dk	|        - petonic@hal.com (Michael A. Petonic)
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