Hi Everyone

I have been using Linux since 2004. I can use it quite well but I certainly don't understand all of it, not by a long shot.

I was thinking of building a "Linux from scratch" in the hopes of gaining a better understanding.

I have also been attracted to Minix3 but now that Andy Tanenbaum is retired and the paid developers are looking/found new jobs, I am concerned about it's future.

Hurd sounds so neat but it's development is moving along so slowly.

If I am willing to sink in 200-500 hours of study to master an OS, what would you recommend? Is there a small posix system that is easier to understand then full blown distros like FreeBSD and Linux ?

From these smaller ones, which one do you think is most stable and polished?

What do you think about these targets:
Minix3
Hurd
NetBSD.


Sorry for this odd question, I hope I worded it right...

-Patrick

Well why not try a middle ground approach say archlinux?

Even gentoo can set yourself in this path.
The only reason why I say arch is because of its Wiki

Does anyone ever master a modern OS? You learn how to do the things you need or find interesting, and that's enough. Even professional systems administrators come here for help on occasions!

LFS is obviously a possibility, although I soon lost patience and gave up. The Arch wiki is indeed the best documentation, so Arch is a good idea. It can certainly be a challenge. I've looked at it twice: the first time it took me a day to set up; the second I lost the network before I'd installed X window, and I never got it back.

Thanks again MadmanRB

Hi David

that's the thing, modern OSs are HUGE !

Does Linus even understand the 11M lines of code in the Linux kernel ?!

He can't install Ubuntu because it's too hard! There is only so much time in a day and writing a kernel means there isn't much time for anything else, like administration.

I dream of small and simple. When I program, the language does not slow me down, my understanding of the OS is the bottleneck.

Even if I don't end up using Arch, it's sounds like a good place to learn.

Thanks!

It's not POSIX, but you might be interested in http://www.vpri.org/pdf/tr2012001_steps.pdf