david@dalcs.UUCP (David Trueman) (10/20/87)
I am wondering whether anyone could discuss the differences between
System V release 3.0 and release 3.1. We are currently running BSD4.3,
and don't intend to switch, so we are more interested in applications
than kernel changes. AT&T wants twice the price for the newer
release (educational source) and we want to know whether it's worth it.
--
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CDN david@cs.dal.cdn
INTERNET david%dalcs@uunet.UU.NETrwhite@nusdhub.UUCP (10/22/87)
In article <2672@dalcs.UUCP>, david@dalcs.UUCP (David Trueman) writes: > I am wondering whether anyone could discuss the differences between > System V release 3.0 and release 3.1. AT&T wants twice the price for > the newer release. This is an educated guess on the differences. We receiently purchased a 3B2/600. This machine was advertised to us [the world] as a network engine. We also have a 3B2/310 which is still running SVR2.0.4 [because of a software compatibility problem with the new release of UNIX. [Should be solved in a couple of weeks] But this whole buisness gave me a somewhat front seat of the revisions. 3.0 was provided with the hooks necessary to attach STREAMS devices in order to attach networks and such to the computer. The 3.0 implementations were too slow, much of the computer's time was eaten up processing aganinst the drivers instead of the user processes. Starting with 3.0 all the "standard" innerds and secondary programs support full eight bit characters, i.e. it was "certified" and provided with a new version of awk. 3.0 Virtual paging was implemented somewhare in here. 3.1 was provided with tighter STREAMS interface. 3.1 has a "STREAMS service routine swapper" I beleive that this is part of having the tighter interface. This may have been in 3.0, but I dont think so. Whe we first got the 3B2/600, we did not have the network software we wanted. I came in later [planed]. The system came with UNIX already installed. We ran with this pre installed version for quite a while. When the network software arrived, a stupid blunder on my part removed one of the primary system service files from the hard disk. I craked the seal on my UNIX system Distribution tape, and did a partial restore. Whatever was on our system was not 3.1.1 [the extra 1 designating it for the 600] I dont know what verson it was, little things like the diagnostic monitor would not run after the tape rewrote the /unix et al. I booted up and saved the irreplacable stuff, and then reinstalled the system from scratch. The system "found" about 100meg in a partition that nobody had ever noticed we had lost. [the system wasn't getting much use without the network software] The system is easily running twice as fast. It dosn't even blink at network opperations. I don't know what the previous version/revision was, as I didn't notice it before the change and after the change it was gone, but it is quite an improvment. There are a few things I have noticed: 1) If I load the C compiler for 3.0 on, it screws up all sorts of stuff: a) The tape drive light comes on at re-boot, and stays on till first use, then acts normally. b) Things compiled with it often fail some functins like memory alocation. [I had to compile the news software on the 310 and move the objects over] These failures are not consistant, such as you could play nethack as anything but a knight??? 2) The first time you do a "ps" after the machine has just been booted, or it has stood idle for a while [running] It takes 2 or 3 times longer than if you have done one receiently. [1 hour or so] I'll look for other differences, especially when we move the 310 up to 3.0 [not 3.1, these software things seem to move in little bits.] Rob.
bhagwan@voodoo.UUCP (The Bhagwan) (10/23/87)
In article <2672@dalcs.UUCP> david@dalcs.UUCP (David Trueman) writes: >I am wondering whether anyone could discuss the differences between >System V release 3.0 and release 3.1. We are currently running BSD4.3, >and don't intend to switch, so we are more interested in applications >than kernel changes. I know of one program that comes with 3.1 that I'd like to have: the new AWK. I't really looks better (functions, etc.) than the old one. I think they call it nawk this time around. Also available on Toolchest for $300. -- Al McPherson Field Service Engineering Systems Boeing Computer Services ....uw-beaver!ssc-vax!voodoo!bhagwan Renton, Washington (206) 656-7723