Re: www.microsoft.com sure needs a lot of silicon

In comp.infosystems.www.servers.unix, Paul David Fox said something like this:
>Steve Cole wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, 23 Apr 1997, Paul David Fox wrote:
>>
>> > is too heavyweight. (Do the Unix community have a decent alternative
>> > to perl yet?, hint hint!).
>>
>> Yes. Python, Pike, TCL/TK, at least one other.
 

>I take it that you are joking, right? Hahahaha.
 

>I have nothing against Python, I dont know Pike, and I have
>nothing against TCL.
 

>But do you seriously think that a Unix box forking
>off processes on every HTTP request is going to compete with
>the DLL-deranged NT machines?

1. I know of very few servers in use which do this, most prefork, which means they don't fork at the time the request comes in, and there are many advantages to this model over threaded servers (and at least as many advantages the other way)
2. There are single servers for Unix, including phttpd for Solaris, not to mention the async servers like Boa and TinyHTTPd
3. Try the same hardware running Apache/Linux or Apache/NetBSD against IIS/NTS4 and see the performance differences.

>What Mr. Gates got a clue on many moons ago and the Java
>brethren have only just realised is that APIs are the defining
>technology. Doesnt matter whether they work or not, but you
>tell people how wonderful life is with an API and people start
>turning their company over.

This is exactly the problem, yes. Everyone seems willing to bet the farm that NT will make it eventually, and Microsoft certainly has the resources to make NT work eventually, but the Unix OS vendors should be scrambling like mad to add the glitz and API necessary to compete. It may be too hard, they may not have the resources, but its sink or swim.

>I wish Solaris 2.6 luck in its battle against NT 5.x, because that
>is the only serious Unix operating system left. (Linux probably
>comes second).

I'm not sure I understand how you make this judgement, but ok.

Brandon

-- 
 Brandon Long           "Understanding is a three-edged sword"
 MD6 Crash Test Dummy                -- Kosh Naranek
 Intel Corp, Oregon
           I'm too low on the totem pole to speak for Intel.
                   http://www.uiuc.edu/ph/www/blong