Step by tiny step

In TuxJornal, Theo de Raadt says:

"The list of new developments is impressive, but in my view not nearly as impressive as the small little details that continue to be fixed during each development cycle.

Development of OpenBSD is not a milestone-driven series of revolutions. It is a series of small evolutionary steps headed which continue to become cleaner, tiny step by tiny step."

This is interesting, because it highlights the weaknesses I've seen in Solaris development. You see, the problem I have with Solaris is that it's great at the big things, but leaves minor imperfections untouched. Zones and Dtrace are stunning features, and the general solidity and architectural integrity of Solaris is awesome. But Sun have historically spent little time and effort on fixing the tiny little flaws or irritations that are too small (for them) to bother about.

There is hope. With OpenSolaris just around the corner, we have the opportunity to scratch those itches and get to fixing all the little things that have bugged us ourselves. I have my own list of pet peeves ready and waiting to be fixed.

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