LYNX-DEV BSD makefile support 3

[Michael Sokolov]

   Bela,
   
   I know that new BSDs support both East Coast and West Coast semantics. I
didn't have any "*problems*", I compiled older versions of Lynx using the
(IMHO) broken BSDI target without any warning or error messages. What I am
trying to do is not to get Lynx to compile (I have done that many months
ago), but to help other devotees of the West Coast semantics.
   When both semantics are available, the real issue is which one is
better. However, I'm not trying to start a flame war proving that BSD is
better than POSIX, although I do believe that. I want users do decide for
themselves. Since both the existing target and the one I'm proposing work
fine on BSD systems, the real issue is which one is better.
   A note on BSD systems. You claim that only BSDI doesn't use the GNU
semantics. However, you have forgotten the most important BSD system of
all: the pure official 4.4BSD tape from UC Berkeley. Although I don't have
it now, that's what I'll move to in the near future when I get my new hard
disk drive. That system contains very few GNU/POSIX impurities.
   I know that Lynx is maintained by East Coast devotees, and I can imagine
that you think that POSIX/GNU semantics are better and should be used
whenever possible. However, think of it this way. This issue concerns the
people who compile Lynx, not those who just use it. These people are either
sysadmins or people with their own UNIX boxes. In both cases, these people
make the choice of which operating system to install and use.
   The only way a person can use the 4.4BSD target is if he/she has made a
deliberate choice against Linux and even FreeBSD/NetBSD in favor of the
pure 4.4BSD tape from UC Berkeley. This means that he/she believes in the
West Coast way of doing things strongly enough to go to the trouble of
getting an encumbered tape and solving installation puzzles (pure 4.4BSD is
VERY hard to install) instead of getting FreeBSD or NetBSD for free and
installing it painlessly. This means that such a person is a real BSD die-
hard and probably detests GNU and POSIX. I'm sure that such a person would
prefer Lynx to compile without -DSVR4 and to use the BSD makefile include
semantics.
   I claim that such a person is the only kind that will need the 4.4BSD
target. If a person doesn't belong to this extreme category, he/she will
install Linux or at least FreeBSD/NetBSD and won't need the 4.4BSD target.
Therefore, adding the target I propose won't hurt anyone but will help the
people described in the previous paragraph.
   Also, it will help BSDI users, since my target reflects the true nature
of BSDI more accurately than the existing one.
   
   Sincerely,
   Michael Sokolov
   Phone: 216-646-1864
   ARPA Internet SMTP mail: address@hidden
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