NetBSD Kernel Drivers Compiled to Javascript and
Run in Browser
reddit / BSD

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ILikeLeptons · 2012-11-08 22:56

i'm not much of a coder, can someone tell me what makes NetBSD so
incredibly portable? is it just developers with an odd obsession with
porting to as many things as possible or is it organised differently
than other operating systems as to make it more portable?

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liveoneggs · 2012-11-09 02:01

NetBSD is architected from the very beginning with a split between MI
(machine independent) and MD (machine dependent).

So if you write, for example, a network driver it's chipset bits will
probably be MI, and will interact with a stable MD pci interface for
your machine (sparc, amd64/x86_64/ARM/etc).

THIS particular bit of insanity is a crazy mix of interesting tech
netbsd does a terrible job marketing.  Mostly RUMP.  :)

RUMP, which is kind of like a very lightweight virtualization
framework + node + emscripten.

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badluser · 2012-11-09 13:28

this is awesome. man, the netbsd project is just full of talented
engineers.

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neoice · 2012-11-09 19:04

NetBSD: so portable it runs on everything, including web browsers.

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snakebitenet · 2012-11-09 20:14

> THIS particular bit of insanity is a crazy mix of interesting tech
netbsd does a terrible job marketing.

Ain't that the truth.  DragonFly is the same.

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JustFinishedBSG · 2012-11-10 14:18

Every night when I go to sleep I wonder what would happen if in the
night, magically, FreeBSD merged with netBSD and DragonFly.

Damnit I want DF kernel and NBSD magic in my FreeBSD !

No more wars, the end of hunger?