I have some doubts, which I could not get clarified from google
1.Will kernel be upgraded / updated with every update of the revision of …hrev? I ask because, so far, when the pkgman upgrades the packages, it will announce which are the ones that will be upgraded…so far, I have not seen amessage that kernel will be upgraded
Like kernel.org maintains the linux kernel, is Mr. Travis Geiselbrecht still maintaining this Haiku kernel?
Is it possible to upgrade only the kernel?
The kernel is part ofthe haiku package and maintained by the same team as every other parts of HaIku. Why would it be special? Only the Linux kernel developers would want you to think that they are semigods of programming, and that kernels somehow are a special thing that only them can do.
Travis has not been directly involved in writing kernel code for Haiku for several years now. He is doing more interesting (and better paying) projects and not really interested in his work from 20+ years ago, since he wrote two new operating systems since then.
I wouldn’t do that on any OS. Even if development has stopped and only security patches are released, little adaptation is sometimes needed in other parts of the system. So, with time, you may accumulate small dysfunctions.
I assume you know the history of Linux and why it is a separate project from the (mostly) GNU userland.
Last time looked, all the other UNIX versions (BSD, Solaris, AIX, …) each came with a complete system including both kernel and userland. GNU and Linux are avery strange outlier.
That´s of course true. But they also have a pretty different history, and that´s what I was referring to. The GNU project had intended the HURD as the kernel for their operating system. If the HURD had been anywhere near being usable at the start of the 90s, Linux would probably never even have been written or at least very likely not been as successful as it was. Instead we would be talking about the GNU operating system as one piece and not about the kernel as a separate entity.
Totally true. The whole system is made to discourage touching the kernel, making it look and feel as the kernel is the whole thing. For Linux specifically, it’s certainly true its developers like this. Even though they can’t deny Linux is just the kernel, they reject even the term “GNU/Linux”.
Nowadays people expect “Linux” to be a complete system, including the userland. Most also think Linux is the whole OS, and the vast majority of distributions don’t even bother mentioning it is not.
Also true. Nowadays Hurd is actually quite usable but, sadly, it’s too late. Few people know Hurd even exists, and even fewer ever tried Guix (the OS, not just the package manager). I’m pretty sure none of the “major” distributions would ever use Hurd as their default kernel, but at least Debian and Arch offer it as a niche unofficial alternative. I’m afraid Hurd will never get publicity.