Jay Savage wrote: > On 5/20/05, Vladislav Belogrudov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> .. or from solaris, where s8 MUST run under s10 #:) >> They put millions into making their systems compatible >> (RESPECT) >> > > Actually, there's some pretty prominent misinformation out there. > _Abolute OpenBSD_ (No Strarch) claims that one of obsd's selling > points is that unlike linux, obsd compiled binaries are compatible > between system versions, and that effort is put into the linker, etc., > to keep it that way. I'm not sure when that changed if it was ever > true to begin with, but the book's not that old (3.4?), so I'm sure > people believe it. > > --j
not mis-information, but confusion. If you take a blank hard disk, install OpenBSD 3.7 on it, then try to install a 3.6 or 3.5 package, you will be frustrated..it won't work. HOWEVER...Take a blank hard disk, install OpenBSD 3.3 on it (note: for i386, that's a.out format), install some packages on it. NOW, upgrade to 3.4 (ELF format), then 3.5, then 3.6, and finally 3.7, turn on the a.out binary compatibility switch, and your 3.3 packages will most likely run JUST FINE. (ok, there's some C++ issues I'm not going to pretend to understand, but many apps will Just Work). BINARY compatibility is maintained. Packaging has changed. If you are upgrading, you may not need to upgrade your packages (but really, you should anyway). If you are doing a fresh install, there isn't much point (usually) in trying to install obsolete packages. Nick.
