eliminating GPL apps on FreeBSD

Jorge Mario G. murcielako at yahoo.com
Sat Dec 18 15:34:06 PST 2004


 --- Christian Weisgerber <naddy at mips.inka.de>
escribió: 
> Jeremy C. Reed <reed at reedmedia.net> wrote:
> 
> > Some things already done (but not necessarily used
> yet):
> > 
> > cpio,
> 
> The tar, cpio, and pax utilities are basically the
> same program
> with a different command line interface.  A new cpio
> could be based
> on libarchive.  OpenBSD uses BSD pax in different
> personalities for
> all three programs, like 4.4BSD did.
> 
> In practice, FreeBSD users appear to universally
> prefer tar, and
> cpio is a little regarded legacy command.
> 
> > diff?,
> 
> OpenBSD has a BSD-licensed implementation but it
> lacks features
> compared to GNU diff.  Notably, there is no sdiff
> command.
> 
> > patch?,
> 
> OpenBSD has a non-GNU patch based on an older
> release.  Care needs
> to be taken, because different versions of patch
> have (not so)
> subtle differences.
> 
> > grep,
> 
> OpenBSD has a BSD-licensed grep that is good enough,
> but doesn't
> perform as well as GNU grep.  Also lacks all wide
> char support and
> the like.
> 
> > gzip,
> 
> This could be taken straight from OpenBSD.
> 
> > sort,
> 
> OpenBSD has a BSD sort, not sure where that is from.
>   Again, it's
> lacking in the I18N area.
> 
> > tar,
> 
> FreeBSD has its own implementation now (bsdtar),
> based on libarchive.
> 
> > dialog,
> 
> Not a standard tool.  The last time I checked,
> FreeBSD's version
> was rather different from the one shipped with some
> Linux distributions.
> 
> > gettext,
> 
> I'm under the impression that the CITRUS
> implementation is not a
> complete replacement for GNU gettext.
> 
> > bc/dc.
> 
> These could be taken straight from OpenBSD.  If
> there are any
> deficiencies, Otto Moerbeek sure would like to hear.
> 
> -- 
> Christian "naddy" Weisgerber                        
>  naddy at mips.inka.de

I was about to send this same list
also there is a BSD awk

the OpenBSD dudes are working on OpenCVS

so the BSD apps are out there and ready to use.
THOSE APPS WORK

In the first post I was not talking about stuff like
gcc, just simple user land tools, that can be imported
anytime.

NOTE:
1.  checking the OpenBSD's grep i saw this:
Copyright (c) 1999 James Howard and Dag-Erling Coïdan
Smørgrav.
isnt he FreeBSD's des? so OpenBSD is using "his" grep
but his team (freebsd) is not!

2.  why not import OpenNTPD? it works too

------
what I was thinking was more a
http://freebsd.org/gplfree kind of project.
an initiative listining what has to be rewwriten, who
is doing it blah blah. it could be like a point of
cooperation among BSDs to do the same task

P.S.: My C skills are not the best but sure I could
start working on something (actually I'm doing it


=====


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