address@hidden: Re: Hurd FAQ]

[Alfred M. Szmidt]

Here is a patch that updates several entries in the FAQ by
Frederic Henry and Manuel Menal.

------- Start of forwarded message -------
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 15:35:34 +0100
From: =?ISO-8859-15?Q?Fr=E9d=E9ric?= HENRY <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden
Subject: Re: Hurd FAQ

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The Thu, 5 Feb 2004 13:19:51 +0100 (MET), 
Alfred M. Szmidt sent:

> 
> Is this a patch against the previous patch?

Yes

>  If it is, please send a
> patch that is against the clean version of FAQ.en.in.

Ok, here it is.

> 
> Cheers, and thank you very much for the work!
> 

You're welcome ;)


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- --- FAQ.en.in 2002-05-26 20:38:05.000000000 +0200
+++ FAQ.en.in.new       2004-02-05 15:25:22.000000000 +0100
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
- -               Frequently Asked Questions about GNU Hurd
+               Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU Hurd
 
 This document attempts to answer the questions that most often plague
 users when they are talking about, installing, using, compiling and
@@ -8,14 +8,14 @@
 The GNU Hurd is under active development and a stable version has not
 yet been released.  Be aware that:  there is a lot of work yet to be
 completed; you will find bugs; your system will crash.  That said, there
- -is a lot of room for contributions at all levels:  development of the
+is a lot of room for contributions at all levels: development of the
 Hurd and Mach proper, porting applications, writing documentation and,
 most importantly, user feedback.
 
 Should you have a question that is not answered by this document and you
 feel that it should be, submit it and, if possible, include an answer.
 
- -The copyright for each section is by held its respective author(s).
+The copyright for each section is held by its respective author(s).
 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
@@ -29,15 +29,15 @@
 
 ??     What is a Multiserver Microkernel?
 
- -{NHW} A Microkernel has nothing to do with the size of the kernel.
- -Rather, it refers to the functionality that the kernel provides.  It is
- -generally agreed that this is; a set of interfaces to allow processes to
- -communicate and a way to talk to the hardware.  ``Software drivers,'' as
- -I like to call them, are then implemented in user space as servers.  The
- -most obvious examples of these are the TCP/IP stack, the ext2 filesystem
- -and NFS.  In the case of the Hurd, users now have access to
- -functionality that, in a monolithic kernel, they could never use, but
- -now, because the server runs in user space as the user that started it,
+{NHW} The term Microkernel has nothing to do with the size of the
+kernel.  Rather, it refers to the functionality that the kernel provides.
+It is generally agreed that this is; a set of interfaces to allow
+processes to communicate and a way to talk to the hardware.  ``Software
+drivers,'' as I like to call them, are then implemented in user space as
+servers.  The most obvious examples of these are the TCP/IP stack, the
+ext2 filesystem and NFS.  In the case of the Hurd, users now have access
+to functionality that, in a monolithic kernel, they could never use, but
+now, because the server runs in  user space as the user that started it,
 they may, for instance, mount an ftp filesystem in their home directory.
 
 For more information about the design of the Hurd, read the paper by
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
 the Hurd, and to contrast it with the GNU/Linux system which is GNU
 using Linux as the kernel.
 
- -Finally, there is ``Debian GNU/Hurd''. This refers to the distribution
+Finally, there is ``Debian GNU/Hurd''.  This refers to the distribution
 of the GNU system as created by the Debian developers.  For example:
 ``What do you run on your laptop?  Debian GNU/Hurd, of course.''
 
@@ -84,26 +84,50 @@
 
 ??     What mailing lists are there?
 
- -{NHW} There are four principle mailing lists:
+{NHW} There are six primary mailing lists:
 
 - address@hidden:  Development of the Hurd and Mach.
 - address@hidden: General questions about the Hurd.
 - address@hidden:  Maintenance of the Hurd webpages at
- -  http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/hurd.html
+  http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/.
 - address@hidden: Maintenance of (including porting) and
   help with the Debian GNU/Hurd distribution.
+- address@hidden:  Port of the Hurd to the L4 microkernel.
+- address@hidden: A public subscription version of the read-only
+mailing list address@hidden
 
 Subscribe in the usual manner.
 
+The mailing-list archives are available at:
+
+       http://mail.gnu.org/archive/html/
+
+Except debian-hurd archives, which are available at:
+
+       http://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/
+  
 ??     Where do I submit bug reports?
 
- -{NHW} Use the Debian bug tracking system.  You can find out more about
- -the BTS at http://www.debian.org/Bugs.
+{NHW,FH} You can use the savannah bug tracking system:
+
+       http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=hurd
+
+You can also use the Debian Bug Tracking System for Debian GNU/Hurd problems,
+and for bugs that should be fixed in the future but won't be for a while, so 
that
+we can keep track of those.     You can find out more about the Debian BTS at: 
+
+       http://www.debian.org/Bugs
+
+The advantage of the Savannah BTS is that there is a bridge with the
+bug-hurd mailing-list, so this is the one you should generally use.
+
 
 ??     Is there a TODO list?
 
- -{NHW} There are two.  Look at the file tasks and TODO in the root of
- -the Hurd source code.
+{NHW} There are two.  Look at the file `tasks' and `TODO' in the root of
+the Hurd source code.  There are also available at:
+
+       http://hurd.gnufans.org/bin/view/Hurd/GNUHurdStatus
 
 ??     When is the next release?
 
@@ -116,52 +140,125 @@
 Back when Unix systems were booted from two tapes, a small root tape
 and a big user tape.  Today, we like to use different partitions for
 these two spaces.  The Hurd throws this historical garbage away.  We
- -think that we have found a more flexible solution called shadow
- -filesystems.  Unfortunately, support for shadowed filesystems is not yet
- -implemented.
+think that we have found a more flexible solution called union filesystems.
+Unfortunately, support for union filesystems is still in early
+development and still needs lots of testing and patches.
+
+??     What are union filesystems and unionfs ?
+
+{FH} An union filesystem merges two directory trees into a new virtual
+tree.  For example, files appearing  under `/bin' could actually be
+located in different physical locations.  That's why it isn't
+necessary to have a separate  `/usr' directory.  Filesystem union
+will be done by the `unionfs' translator; however, this translator is
+still in development. 
+
+You are welcome to check it out at:
+
+       http://duesseldorf.ccc.de/~moritz/hurd.html
+
+... and to help its development.
 
 ? Installation
 
- -??   Where do I get Debian GNU Hurd?
+??     Where do I get Debian GNU/Hurd?
 
- -{NHW} As GNU/Hurd is an official unstable Debian port, you can find
- -the binaries at your local Debian mirror.  There are, however, several
- -core packages that do not compile cleanly from source and have
- -several, unfortunate, hacks.  These can be found at:
+{NHW,MM} As Debian GNU/Hurd is an official unstable Debian port, you can find 
the
+binaries at your local Debian mirror.  There are, however, several core
+packages that do not compile cleanly from source and have several,
+unfortunate, hacks.  These can be found at:
 
- -     ftp://alpha.gnu.org/pub/hurd/debian.
+       ftp://ftp.gnuab.org/debian
 
 Once you have a working installation, you can point apt at the archives
 by adding the following lines to your /etc/apt/sources.list file.  For
 example:
 
- -     deb ftp://alpha.gnu.org/pub/gnu/hurd/debian unstable main
- -     deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian unstable main
+       deb http://ftp.gnuab.org/debian unreleased main 
+
+Note that because of an attack on the GNU ftp server, alpha.gnu.org is
+currently down.  However, the packages which aren't on the Debian
+official mirrors are available at:
+
+       http://ftp.gnuab.org
+
+Which can be used via apt-get if you add this line to your
+sources.list :
+
+       deb http://ftp.gnuab.org/debian unreleased main 
 
 As downloading all of the packages can be quite long (there is over a
- -gigabyte of files), Philip Charles has created Debian GNU Hurd CDs.
+gigabyte of files), Philip Charles has created Debian GNU/Hurd CDs.
 Vendors can be found at the following site:
 
        http://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/hurd-cd
 
- -??   How do I install Debian GNU Hurd?
+As the Debian GNU/Hurd tend to become regularly out-dated, please note
+that the ISOs are uploaded to:
+
+       ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/iso/
+
+Note that because of a temporary problem on ftp.gnu.org, these ISO are
+currently not updated.  You can, however, have the latest version at:
+
+       ftp://ftp.gnuab.org/pub/gnu.iso/K5/
+
+A few words about the way those snapshots are named: the letter
+indicates the revision of the CDs themselves, whereas the number
+indicates the up-to-dateness of the contents.  That means the letter
+is changed whenever major architectural changes are performed on the
+snapshots themselves (e.g. in the installation system), whereas the
+number is changed when the packages on the CDs get updated. 
+
+??     How do I install Debian GNU/Hurd?
 
 {NHW} Consult one of the installation guides.  The most up to date guide
 can be found at:
 
        http://web.walfield.org/papers/hurd-installation-guide/
 
+Note that this guide isn't up-to-date yet: the installation tarball
+mentioned no longer exist, and has been replaced by the package
+``crosshurd'', which uses apt-get to install the last version of the
+packages.  If you already have a Debian GNU/Linux system, you just
+have to run ``apt-get install crosshurd'' and run crosshurd on the
+directory where your future GNU/Hurd partition is mounted (look at
+``/usr/share/doc/crosshurd'' for more information).  If you don't have
+a Debian system, you can still install GNU/Hurd with the CDs images
+(see above).
+
 ??     What kind of hardware is supported?
 
- -{NHW} Currently, the GNU Hurd only runs on IA32 machines, however,
- -porting to other architectures should not be difficult, in fact, a
- -port to the PowerPC architecture is currently underway.
+{NHW,MM} Currently, the GNU Hurd only runs on IA32 (i386 or
+compatibles) machines, however, porting to other architectures should
+not be difficult.  In fact, a port to the PowerPC architecture is
+currently underway.  You can try out and improve the patches located at:
+
+       http://huizen.dds.nl/~pjbruin/hurd/
 
- -With respect to drivers, GNU Mach uses a subset of the drivers from the
+With respect to the drivers, GNU Mach 1.x uses a subset of the drivers from
 Linux 2.0.x kernel.  A relatively complete hardware compatibility guide
 can be found at:
 
- -     http://www.freesoftware.fsf.org/thug/gnumach_hardware.html
+       http://www.nongnu.org/thug/gnumach_hardware.html
+
+The forthcoming GNU Mach, GNU Mach 2.x uses OSKit device drivers, which
+are themselves based on those found on Linux 2.2.12.  A fairly complete
+list of drivers supported can be found at:
+
+       
http://www.cs.utah.edu/flux/oskit/html/oskit-wwwch43.html#x59-327000043.6
+
+Porting drivers from Linux 2.2 to GNU Mach is relatively easy and
+straightforward; you are highly invited to focus your efforts on GNU
+Mach 2, though.  Currently, the OSKit runs only on x86 and StrongARM, but
+it is being ported to PowerPC.  You can check out the sources and help
+the project at:
+
+       http://es.gnu.org/~jemarch/ppc-oskit/
+
+There is also an alpha port in progress:
+
+       http://www.cs.utah.edu/flux/oskit/oskit-alpha.html
 
 If you run into trouble, it is most likely that:
 
@@ -193,24 +290,24 @@
 
 {MB,NHW} I knew you would ask this.  If I had to reduce this FAQ to only
 one question, I'd choose this one.  It is pretty easy, but you have to
- -know that there are actually several incompatibly naming convention.
+know that there are actually several incompatibly naming conventions.
 
- -First, the Hurd:  if the disk is question is a SCSI disk, you must know
+First, the Hurd:  if the disk in question is a SCSI disk, you must know
 the SCSI device number; if it is an IDE disk, you must know what
 controller the disk is on and whether it is a master or a slave.  The
- -Hurd uses the BSD naming convention which, is to say, disks are ordered
+Hurd uses the BSD naming convention, which is to say, disks are ordered
 according to their physical location, numerically, starting from zero.
 This naming scheme is quite similar to that found in Linux.  There, the
 master disk on the primary controller is designated as `hda' and the
 slave as `hdb'.  On the secondary controller, the master and the slave
- -are designated by `hdc' and `hdd' respectively.  Under the Hurd, `hda'
+are designated by `hdc' and `hdd' respectively.  Under GNU/Hurd, `hda'
 would become `hd0', `hdb' would be referred to as `hd1', etc.
 
 In the Hurd, like in BSD, partitions are called `slices' and are
 numbered starting from one.  Thus, to name a particular partition, we
 take the disk name, append a `s' and the partition number.  Again, this
- -is similar to Linux except, there is no `s'.  For instance, `hda1' would
- -become `hd0s1'.
+is similar to Linux, except there is no `s' (in the Linux convention).
+For instance, `hda1' would become `hd0s1'.
 
 GRUB, the boot loader, uses a completely different nomenclature: it
 probes the BIOS and appends each disk in turn to an array.  Both disks
@@ -221,15 +318,37 @@
 
 ??     Can I use partitions larger than 1GB?
 
- -{MB} No, not currently.  The filesystem servers need to be changed to
- -not map the whole store into memory, which is not too difficult.  For
- -large files, some interfaces need to be changed, which is a bit harder
- -but still doable.
+{MB,FH,MM} No, not currently (actually, the exact limit depends of the
+system, and is somewhere between 1 and 2GB; 1GB is safe, though).
+The filesystem servers need to be changed to 
+not map the whole store into memory, which is not too
+difficult.  Ognyan Kulev wrote a patch correcting this limitation, but
+it is still beta-quality and should be used only for testing
+purposes.  You can get it at: 
+       
+       http://debian.fmi.uni-sofia.bg/~ogi/hurd/ext3fs/
+
+Note that if you try to run ext2fs (without this patch) on filesystems
+whose size is between 2 and 4 GB, it will crash with a quite explicit
+error message about not being able to map the whole partition.
+However, if you run ext2fs on filesystems between 4GB and 6GB, it
+won't crash directly; it will hang as soon as you try to access data
+beyond the limit, though.  The reason for it is quite simple: the
+function which maps the partition in memory, vm_map, takes a size
+argument which is an unsigned integer.  When you try to mount a
+partition larger than 4GB, its size is greater than 2^32, therefore it
+overflows and passes a size of less than 2GB; you'll have access to
+the beginning of the filesystem, but it will sure hang at some point.
+Remember that although this may seem funny and even useful, using
+filesystems larger than 4G without Ognyan's patch may easily lead to
+data loss and crashes.  Do not do that unless you really know what you
+are doing.
+
 
 ??     How much swap do I need?
 
 {NHW} Generally, a lot; once you run out, Mach panics.  I have at least
- -128MB of ram and 256MB of swap on all of machines running GNU/Hurd.
+128MB of ram and 256MB of swap on all of my machines running GNU/Hurd.
 
 ??     Can I share swap space between GNU/Linux and GNU/Hurd?
 
@@ -244,7 +363,7 @@
 translators.  To make this work, the partition must be marked as ``owned
 by the Hurd''.  This is normally done by passing the `-o hurd' option to
 `mke2fs' when creating ext2 system from other operating systems
- -(filesystems created in GNU/Hurd automatically enable this option).
+(filesystems created in GNU/Hurd automatically have this option enabled).
 If you failed to do this, you can still use the `e2os' script.
 
 ??     After `native-install' is finished, I had to write tthhiiss
@@ -253,10 +372,10 @@
 {MB} Funny, isn't it? In addition to the rescue `term' server in
 `/tmp/console', another `term' server got started and is clobbing the
 keyboard input.  After a reboot this problem vanishes as only one `term'
- -server will remain.  If `tar' would support translator, we would not
- -have this problem...  Even if you don't experience this problem right
- -after the installation, reboot immediately so you don't hit this bug by
- -accident.
+server will remain.  If `tar' would support translator, we would not have
+this problem...  Note that translator support for tar is underway.  Even
+if you don't experience this problem right after the installation,
+reboot immediately so you don't hit this bug by accident.
 
 ? Setup
 
@@ -284,7 +403,7 @@
 ??     How do I set up a network?
        How do I set up a loopback device?
 
- -{MB} In the former case, be sure that GNU Mach detected your network
+{MB,MM} In the former case, be sure that GNU Mach detected your network
 card.  Either way, you need to setup `pfinet'.  Documentation can be
 found at:
 
@@ -293,7 +412,11 @@
 Don't forget to fill in `/etc/resolv.conf', `/etc/hosts', etc.
 
 Of course, you only need to do this if the installation routine didn't
- -do it for you.
+do it for you.  For those using cross-installation, note that the new
+tarballs provided by Joachim Nilsson include a script called
+setup-network which makes those things easier: you just have to edit the
+first lines to set up your network.  This script gets installed at the
+root of your GNU/Hurd filesystem.
 
 ??     How can I pass options to `serverboot'?
 
@@ -316,13 +439,21 @@
 
 ??     Where is the documentation?
 
- -{NHW} There are neither man pages nor info nodes for the Hurd translators
- -and commands.  Documentation lives inside of the binaries and can be
- -found by passing the `--help' option to a given command.  For instance:
+{NHW,MM} The most up to date and complete documentation you can get
+lives inside of the binaries and can be found by passing the `--help'
+option to a given command.  For instance:
 
        # /hurd/ext2fs --help
 
- -will tell you what types of options the ext2fs translator accepts.
+will tell you what types of options the ext2fs translator accepts. 
+
+The GNU/Hurd User's Guide and the GNU/Hurd Reference Manual both provide some
+help about the usage of and concepts behind the GNU Hurd.  You can find them,
+among others, at:
+
+       http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/docs.html
+
+You can find more documentation on the Wiki, as usual (see above).
 
 ??     What is a translator?
 
@@ -351,30 +482,39 @@
 
 ??     How do I use non-US keyboard bindings?
 
- -{NHW} Take a look at:
+{NHW,FH} The `clavier' package at:
 
- -     ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/hurd/contrib/marcus/keymap.tar.gz
+       http://kilobug.free.fr/hurd/debian/
 
- -??   How do I enable color on the console?
+provides keymapping and some keymaps for the default GNU Mach console.  If you
+use the new console, you can try the xkb plugin, developed by Marco Gerards, 
at:
 
- -{NHW} If you are using the GNU Mach microkernel, you can set your
- -terminal to `mach-color'.  For instance:
+       http://kilobug.free.fr/hurd/
 
- -     # export TERM=mach-color
+??     How do I enable color on the console?
 
- -??   How can I enable virtual consoles?
+{NHW,MM} If you are using the GNU Mach microkernel and its console, you
+can set your terminal to `mach-color'.  For instance:
 
- -{NHW} There is currently no support for virtual consoles.  You can,
- -however, use `screen'.  It is much more flexible anyway.
+       # export TERM=mach-color
 
- -Kalle Olavi Niemitalo <address@hidden> began working on colortext.
- -His aim was to provide a featureful program that multiplexes the console
- -in userspace by reading from the /dev/kdb device.  Check:
+The new console (see later) supports colors by default. 
 
- -     http://stekt.oulu.fi/~tosi/
+??     How can I enable virtual consoles?
 
- -{MB} Here are some useful options to add to your ~/.screenrc file to get
- -it to emulate Linux virtual terminals a bit more closely:
+{NHW,FH} There is no support for virtual consoles in the default GNU
+Mach console.  However, Marcus Brinkmann wrote a new console for the
+Hurd.  Information on how to use it is available at:
+
+       
http://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2002/debian-hurd-200209/msg00054.html
+
+Another solution, working on the current GNU Mach console, is to use
+`screen'; but we strongly recommend that you use and test the new console,
+and report the problems.
+
+{MB} If you want to use `screen', here are some useful options to add
+to your ~/.screenrc file to get it to emulate Linux virtual terminals
+a bit more closely: 
 
        bindkey ^[O0 select 0
        bindkey ^[O1 select 1
@@ -397,10 +537,18 @@
 
 ??     What is the status of X?
 
- -{MB} It works!  The packages are available at any Debian ftp mirror.
- -XFree86 4.0.2 is available, as are some of the v3 servers.  Instructions
- -on how to use the packages are in the mailing list archive (link follow
- -later).
+{MB,FH} It works! XFree 4.1 is available on Debian mirrors, while
+XFree 4.3 is on the GNUAB mirror:
+
+       ftp://ftp.gnuab.org/pub/debian/pool/main/x/xfree86/
+
+You can also, of course, install it via apt-get, provided you added
+the GNUAB mirror to your sources.list (see above).
+
+Some v3 servers are also available.  Instructions on how to configure X
+are available in the installation guide:
+
+       
http://web.walfield.org/papers/hurd-installation-guide/english/hurd-install-guide.html#SEC16
 
 ??     Why does X not work?
 
@@ -415,9 +563,11 @@
 {MB} Two is the kernel, three is the default pager and four is the root
 filesystem.
 
- -??   Why does `ps aux' give me strange output?
+??     Why does `ps aux' give me incomplete output?
 
- -{MB} Try `ps Aux'.
+{MB,FH} Try `ps Aux'.  Indeed, under GNU/Hurd, `ps aux' doesn't list all
+processes: it omits the session and group leaders, and the processes
+without parent.
 
 ??     I have a hung process that I want to kill, however, `ps' is now
        hanging too.
@@ -437,23 +587,49 @@
 Instead of `free', use `vmstat' and `vminfo'.
 
 For kernel messages, read `/dev/klog' directly.  Note, once you read
- -this, it is gone forever.
- -
- -{NHW} `ifconfig' does not exist.  Try:
+this, it is gone forever.  Therefore, you might want to cat the current
+content to a file.  Since `/dev/klog' doesn't give cat a EOF, you must
+hit `C-c' (^C) after a while so it stops reading the file.
+
+{NHW,MM} ifconfig does exist, as provided by the GNU inetutils.  Note
+that this is not the ifconfig commonly found on GNU/Linux systems: it
+might have different options. 
+
+As for dhcp, a client has been ported by Neal H. Walfield, but it does
+not work yet due to a limitation of pfinet: it is based on the Linux
+2.2 TCP/IP code and is unable to listen on `0.0.0.0'.  Work is
+underway.
+
+{MM} `top', as provided by procps on GNU/Linux, is highly
+Linux-dependent and will probably not be ported.  That's why Paul
+Emsley, and later James Morrisson developed a new utility for GNU/Hurd
+called `pptop'.  It also needs testing and improvements, check it out
+at: 
 
- -     # /hurd/pfinet --help
+       http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/hurdextras
 
- -As for dhcp, take a look at hurd/trans/pump.c; this is the start of a
- -dhcp client for the Hurd.
 
 ??     Is there a `/proc' filesystem?
 
- -{MB} No.  Maybe there will be an emulation filesystem someday for
- -programs that rely it.  If you are wondering about the empty `/proc'
+{MB} Yes and no.  There is no Linux-compatible (or compatible with
+any existing system which has a `/proc' virtual filesystem, for that
+matter) `/proc', no virtual filesystem dedicated to providing
+informations to the users at run-time, or setting some parameters in
+the kernel.  Maybe there will be an emulation filesystem someday for
+programs that rely on it.  If you are wondering about the empty `/proc'
 directory, this is a relict from a Debian GNU/Linux package
 (specifically, `base-files').
 
- -You can probe for existing hardware devices with the devprobe utility.
+You can probe for existing hardware devices with the `devprobe' utility.
+
+{MM} James Morrisson has created a procfs translator which implements
+a /proc file system providing informations about running processes on
+the system, as Linux /proc does (those are the directories with
+numerical names, which are actually PIDs).  It is highly experimental
+and needs testing and improvements.  You can check it out at:
+
+       http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/hurdextras
+
 
 ??     Why does the command `df' not work?
 
@@ -466,8 +642,8 @@
 {NHW} Try passing the `-ap' flag to settrans.  By default, settrans only
 sets a passive translator, therefore, no output will show up on your
 terminal.  Using `-ap', however, sets both the active and the passive
- -translator which, means that the translator starts immediately and its
- -stderr is connected to you terminal.
+translator, which means that the translator starts immediately and its
+stderr is connected to your terminal.
 
 Additionally, the biggest problem is passing relative paths to passive
 translators.  You cannot predict what the current working directory of a
@@ -478,7 +654,7 @@
 {MB} It is important to understand that there is nothing special about a
 directory under the Hurd, it is just another file.  This fits in with
 the translator concept where a translator can appear as a directory but
- -provide also as a file.
+also as a file.
 
 ? Trouble shooting
 
@@ -509,7 +685,16 @@
        There are some cases in the Hurd where `EGRATUITOUS' is returned
        and probably something else should be chosen instead.
 
- -If you can reproduce this error message, please report it.
+??  What does ``computer bought the farm'' mean ?
+
+{FH} This message is the text that corresponds to the errno code
+`EIEIO'.  Roland McGrath explained:
+
+       That message is not output by any particular servers at particular
+       times; rather it is the perror text for the errno code EIEIO, which
+       is returned by various RPCs and functions for a variety of "hopeless"
+       error conditions. 
+
 
 ??     What does ``/dev/hd0s1: MOUNTED READ-ONLY; MUST USE `fsysopts
        --writable''' mean?
@@ -521,7 +706,7 @@
 
        # fsysopts /home --writable
 
- -to ask the translator sitting on /home to change from read-only to
+to ask the translator sitting on `/home' to change from read-only to
 read/write mode.  Note that the command is being sent to the filesystem
 and not the store (e.g. /dev/hd0s1).
 
@@ -553,12 +738,16 @@
 not set.  The correct thing to do is to submit a patch to the upstream
 author that allocates memory dynamically.
 
+You can have more information at:
+
+       http://hurd.gnufans.org/bin/view/Distrib/PortingIssues
+
 ??     How can I help?
 
- -{NHW} A effort to compile all of the Debian packages is underway by Jeff
+{NHW} An effort to compile all of the Debian packages is underway by Jeff
 Bailey.  Take a look at: 
 
- -     http://people.debian.org/~jbailey/oasis/group/Debian/index.html
+       http://hurd.gnufans.org/bin/view/Distrib/BuilddStatus
 
 to see what has been done and how you can help.
 
@@ -566,17 +755,32 @@
 
 ??     Where can I get the source?
 
- -{NHW} The source is stored in CVS at:
+{NHW} The source is stored in CVS at the GNU Hurd Savannah
+repository. Information on how to get a copy is available at: 
+
+       http://sv.gnu.org/cvs/index.php?group=hurd                              
+
+A web interface is also available at: 
+
+       http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/hurd/
+
+The modules that you are interested in are: `hurd', `gnumach',`mig', and
+`hurd-l4' for the L4 port.
 
- -     :pserver:address@hidden:/cvsroot/hurd
+Concerning the Hurd, GNU Mach and MiG, you can also get more
+information on how to get their source code (released or CVS)
+respectively at:
 
- -You do not need a password to login.  The modules that you are interested
- -in are: `hurd', `mach' and `mig'.
+       http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/download.html
 
- -A web interface is also available at: http://subversions.gnu.org.
+       http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/gnumach-download.html
 
- -To get the source to the latest debian package, look on any debian
- -mirror.
+and:
+
+       http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/mig-download.html
+
+To get the source of the latest debian package, look on any debian
+mirror, or use apt-get source on Debian systems. 
 
 ??     Can I cross compile?
 
@@ -589,13 +793,8 @@
          ../src/hurd/configure ...
 
 If you are running another distribution, you will have to do this the
- -long way.  You can find instructions at the Cross Compiling HOW-TO
- -available at:
- -
- -     http://hurddocs.sourceforge.net/howto/cross.html
- -
- -Farid Hajji <address@hidden> also talks about his experiences
- -at:
+long way.  Farid Hajji <address@hidden> also talks about his
+experiences at:
 
        http://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd-0012/msg00062.html
 
@@ -609,20 +808,59 @@
 
 ??     What is OSKit-Mach?
 
- -{NHW} There are two versions of Mach: GNU Mach and OSKit-Mach.  The
+{NHW,FH} There are two versions of Mach: GNU Mach 1.x and GNU Mach
+2.x, formerly knows as OSKit-Mach.  The
 former uses the drivers from Linux 2.0.x while the latter uses the
- -University of Utah's OSKit.  If all goes well, OSKit-Mach will be
- -stabilized and become the official kernel.  You can find out more about
- -the OSKit at:
+University of Utah's OSKit.  You can find out more about the OSKit at:
 
        http://www.cs.utah.edu/flux/oskit
 
+GNU Mach 2.0 is usable by now, and should soon be
+the default microkernel at install, but some things are still missing
+(or not working), such as XFree86, ...
+That's why GNU Mach 2.0 and GNU Mach 1.3 currently coexist.  More
+information is available at:
+
+       http://hurd.gnufans.org/bin/view/Mach/OskitMachStatusList
+
+??     What are L4 and Pistachio ?
+
+{FH} L4 is a second generation microkernel (actually, a specification
+which defines a microkernel family, since there are multiple
+implementations). It aims to be lighter and slightly faster than first
+generation microkernels, such as Mach.  You can have more information
+on the L4 project at:
+
+       http://l4hq.org/
+
+And at:
+
+       http://www.l4ka.org/
+
+Pistachio is a L4 implementation, developed by the L4Ka project at the
+university of Karlsuhe.  It implements the latest specifications, and
+is licensed under the BSD license.  You can find out more about it at:
+
+       http://l4ka.org/projects/pistachio/
+
+A port of the Hurd to the L4 microkernel (using Pistachio) is underway
+and very promising.  The port is not yet anywhere near usable though,
+so GNU Mach is still the official and only kernel the Hurd uses for
+now.
+
+Note that the sources of the L4 port of the Hurd are in the
+``hurd-l4'' module of the Hurd's Savannah repository, located at:
+
+       http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/hurd/
+
+and not in the `l4hurd' Savannah project repository.
+
+
 ??     Where is the documentation?
 
 {NHW} There were several books written on the Mach kernel.  The
 information that they contain is still mostly pertinent and should be
- -considered required reading for potential hackers.  They can be found
- -at:
+considered required reading for potential hackers.  They can be found at:
 
        
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/mach/public/www/doc/publications.html
 
@@ -655,45 +893,33 @@
 ??     What format should I use for patches against the Hurd and GNU Mach?
 
 {MB} All patches should be sent in unified context diff format (option
- -`-u' to GNU diff).  It is helpful for us if you also use the `-p'
- -option which includes information about the function changed by a
- -patch.  Changes that are similar can be grouped together in one file,
- -but unrelated changes should be sent in seperate files.  The patches
- -can be included in the message or as a MIME attachement.  They should
- -not be compressed and/or archived unless they are very large, and if
- -they are very large it is probably better to store them on-line at
- -some place and only sent an URL.
+`-u' to GNU diff).  It is helpful for us if you also use the `-p' option
+which includes information about the function changed by a patch.
+Changes that are similar can be grouped together in one file, but
+unrelated changes should be sent in separate files.  The patches can be
+included in the message or as a MIME attachment.  They should not be
+compressed and/or archived unless they are very large, and if they are
+very large it is probably better to store them on-line at some place and
+only send an URL.
 
 Write a ChangeLog entry for each change, following the format of the
- -existing files.  Here is an example:
+existing files.  Please take a look at the GNU Coding Standards:
+
+       http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards.html
 
- -     2000-12-02  Marcus Brinkmann  <address@hidden>
+The most important section being `6.8 Change Logs':
 
- -             * ops.c (op_readlink): Before returning, check if the buffer
- -             pointed to by transp is ours.  If not, munmap it.
- -             (op_read): Likewise for bp.
- -             (op_readdir): Don't alloca a buffer here.  Instead initialize
- -             BUF and BUFSIZE to 0 and let the server (eh, MiG) do it.
- -             munmap BUF before returning.
- -
- -The file name and the name of the function changed should always be
- -spelled out completely, and not abbreviated or otherwise mangled (i.e.
- -avoid foo.{c,h}), because this makes searching for all changes to a
- -file or function nearly impossible.  Local variable names are all
- -capitalized.  There are two spaces between sentences.  You can use
- -``C-x 4 a'' in Emacs to add a new ChangeLog entry.  If you do that
- -with the mark being in a function, Emacs will automatically fill in
- -the file and function name for you.
+       http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards_40.html#SEC40
 
 Do not send in a patch for the ChangeLog file.  Rather include the
 ChangeLog entries in the message that contains the patch.  Patches for
 ChangeLog files often conflict.
 
 If you have the original source tree in the directory `hurd-orig', and
- -the modified source tree in the directory `hurd', the following
- -command will produce a good patch (please make sure there are no extra
- -files like backups in the modified tree, or, in this case, do not use the
- -`-N' option).  You will need to collect the ChangeLog entries seperately.
+the modified source tree in the directory `hurd', the following command
+will produce a good patch (please make sure there are no extra files
+like backups in the modified tree, or, in this case, do not use the `-N'
+option).  You will need to collect the ChangeLog entries separately.
 
        # diff -x ChangeLog -Nurp hurd-orig hurd
 
@@ -701,5 +927,7 @@
 Answers were given by:
 * {NHW} Neal H Walfield  <address@hidden>
 * {MB} Marcus Brinkmann  <address@hidden>
+* {FH} Frédéric HENRY  <address@hidden> 
+* {MM} Manuel Menal    <address@hidden>
 
  vim:ts=8:sw=8:tw=72


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