UD169430@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Mike Aos) (11/06/90)
I just bought an old Sun 2/120 to play with (I havn't actually GOTTEN it yet,
but pieces are in the mail and should arrive quite soon) so I've started
reading comp.sys.sun and alt.sys.sun and a little comp.sys.NeXT just 'cuz I'm
impressed with the machine. Now for the bulk of the message....I've been into
Apple's for about 10 years now, I've got a IIgs (loaded) and I thought I knew
quite a bit about it, and computers in general. Now in reading these new
groups I feel like an absolute idiot/neophyte. Are these machines really that
much more complex, or is it simply because I'm so new to the platform?
Just fishing for impressions...
Mike
---
Mike Aos "I own a Harley, not just a T-shirt!" ['68 Sporty]
East Grand Forks, MN (yeah, it's COLD up here) Are Amiga's really
(218) 773-9154 | Woz | that bad?
UD182050@NDSUVM1 (.Bitnet?) | Apple IIgs | "Share and Enjoy"
UD182050@VM1.NoDak.Edu | (and Sun 2/120) | -Sirius Cybernetics Corporation
I like to trade. | 'till I can afford a NeXT | (reserved for a Mac slam)
"O captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting."
_O Captain, My Captain_ -Walt Whitmangwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn) (11/07/90)
In article <90309.212836UD169430@NDSUVM1.BITNET> UD169430@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Mike Aos) writes: >I just bought an old Sun 2/120 to play with (I havn't actually GOTTEN it yet, >but pieces are in the mail and should arrive quite soon) so I've started >reading comp.sys.sun and alt.sys.sun and a little comp.sys.NeXT just 'cuz I'm >impressed with the machine. Now for the bulk of the message....I've been into >Apple's for about 10 years now, I've got a IIgs (loaded) and I thought I knew >quite a bit about it, and computers in general. Now in reading these new >groups I feel like an absolute idiot/neophyte. Are these machines really that >much more complex, or is it simply because I'm so new to the platform? The main difference is that the Sun workstation is a real computer with a real operating system (variant of UNIX). Instead of being designed by two fellows in a garage, it evolved from roots in academia and the computer industry (traceable to the SUN board developed at Stanford). UNIX is actually a heck of a lot easier to use for developing real applications than is an Apple IIGS. Because it has a rich evolutionary history, there is a lot to learn to "fully" master UNIX. You should work your way through good UNIX tutorials, particular Kernighan & Pike's "The UNIX Programming Environment". Libes and Ressler's "Life With UNIX" is a good source for much of the UNIX "culture" that is needed to appreciate the discussions in those newsgroups. The SunTools, X-Windows, OpenLook, or similar windowing environments add a ridiculous degree of complexity to application development, just as with the IIGS "desktop" environment, but so long as you stick to non-window-specific applications, programming is quite easy. I also recommend avoiding developing network-specific applications involving socket-based programs; there are better, portable ways to exploit networking. The Sun hardware itself is not especially complex, and you should have little cause to be concerned about it, as the system is not intended to be programmed "on the bare metal". Complete Sun documentation currently more than fills a standard "catalog rack". Make sure to get the documentation!
warren@debra.doc.ca (Warren Baird) (11/07/90)
In article <90309.212836UD169430@NDSUVM1.BITNET> UD169430@NDSUVM1.BITNET (Mike Aos) writes: >I just bought an old Sun 2/120 to play with (I havn't actually GOTTEN it yet, >but pieces are in the mail and should arrive quite soon) so I've started >reading comp.sys.sun and alt.sys.sun and a little comp.sys.NeXT just 'cuz I'm >impressed with the machine. Now for the bulk of the message....I've been into >Apple's for about 10 years now, I've got a IIgs (loaded) and I thought I knew >quite a bit about it, and computers in general. Now in reading these new >groups I feel like an absolute idiot/neophyte. Are these machines really that >much more complex, or is it simply because I'm so new to the platform? > >Just fishing for impressions... > >Mike Owning and operating a Sun probably isn't as difficult as it may sound from reading comp.sys.sun, most of the postings that I've read there are from people who are having strange problems that don't show up all of the time. Nice to know that there is at least a group like that if you do start having problems. I think a multi-tasking, possibly multi-user computer will always be more complicated than a single-user, single process computer... Unix is quite a change from GSOS, IMHO a change for the better. I've been using Unix for about a year now, and I find that it's much easier and friendlier than GSOS. I admit that I'm not into systems programming or anything like that, but I find that C programming is MUCH easier and faster on a Unix machine with memory protection... I don't think I'd even try to write anything fancy on a GS now that I've had experience programming on a Sun 3/60 (I don't have a hard drive, and I can only sit there watching the 'Welcome to the IIgs' message for 50 seconds so many times before I get tired of programming...) I'm not going to sell my GS, but I know that my next computer will be a Unix box, like a Sun SparcStation, or an IBM RS/6000. Tell me what you think of the 2/120 when you get it... Warren -- Warren Baird | warren@dgbt.doc.ca ...utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!dgbt!warren Doing a Co-op term at Communications Canada, Ottawa