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0 pointspierrebai12y ago0 comments

4ad is just nit-picking.

The labs still only distribute Plan 9 under its own license. Now Plan 9 is available also underthe GPL, but the labs doesn't distribute that version. it's only relevant if they continue to work on it and don't continue to share their changes under the GPL.

At worst, there will be a fork under GPL and they will slowly diverge.

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6 comments · 1 top-level

4ad12y ago· 5 in thread

My understanding is that the Berkley guys develop akaros and have no interest in maintaining a Plan 9 fork (they just want to integrate some Plan 9 code). Of course, other parties are free to fork the GPL version (not that this will ever happen).

_delirium12y ago

Now that there's a GPL version, it does mean other developers of Linux derivatives, or of Linux itself, could mine bits and pieces of the code, though, just like Akaros is doing. I agree a long-running GPL-licensed Plan9 fork isn't that likely, but now that there's even a one-time dump of the code under the GPL, it removes the legal barrier to kernel devs cherrypicking pieces of the Plan9 code and integrating them into patches. For example, the developers of Linux's v9fs implementation can now borrow code from Plan9's 9p implementation, if they choose.

4ad12y ago

That's true, although I doubt that will happen as well. Time will tell.

FWIW, Ron Minnich wrote the Linux v9fs. He was very involved with Plan 9, for example the Blue Gene port. He know ports Plan 9 bits into Akaros.

lotsofmangos12y ago

(not that this will ever happen)

Now I'm tempted to do it just to prove a point.

edit, just looked it up on github -

https://github.com/niktischenko/plan9

https://github.com/newemu/plan9

https://github.com/jamiepg1/plan9

oh, and mine now -

https://github.com/lotsofmangos/graveRobbers2