Microkernels again

When I was a student (around 1990 I guess) learning about operating systems and distributed systems, microkernels was one of the hot topics. Earlier we had used Minix (Minix 1, that is) in the operating system course, but now we experimented with the Mach kernel, with Chorus and with Amoeba. I finished my master and got a teaching assistant position at the university. My position at the university made it easy for my to followed the ongoing research activities and debates on operating systems and distributed systems. I remember the famous Linux/Minix flame war on comp.os.minix (also known as the Tanenbaum-Torvalds debate) very well. And also the very interesting discussion on comp.os.research starting with Tanenbaums posting Have we learned anything in the last 20 years? Tanenbaum later presented a paper based on this discussion on the OpenForum Technical Conference (EurOpen?) in Utrecht (November 1992). I was happy to attend this conference, and the lines behind the microphones for questions and comments to his talk were extremely long. It was a kind of a live version of the comp.os.research debate, and if I remember correctly, Rob Pike was there repeating his Andy Tanenbaum hasn't learned anything response. So, what made me think about all this. I guess this Tanenbaum-Torvalds Debate: Part II posting from Tanenbaum. [via]

May 18 2006 (aa)