FreeBSD and MacOS X (Darwin)

[Drake Wolfe]

Maybe you guys on here can help me understand some about FreeBSD and OS X, at least I hope so. So here I go.

 

If MacOS X/Darwin is built from FreeBSD how come there is so much "patching" of the OS X disk? It seems to me that you could "frakenstein" the two together to get a fully working OS X that would work on any Intel/AMD system without a lot of issues. It seams the source would be very similar, but I could be very wrong about that.

 

I understand that there is a security chip in the original Macs to allow OS X to install, and that has to be bypassed to allow the OS to be installed. But a I wouldn't think a little chip would be that hard to bypass, I am not disreguarding the hard work of this project, I am just trying to understand.

 

And, how come you can't use FreeBSD drivers for the hardware on Mac OS X? It just doesn't make any since to me. Couldn't you get the driver source for FreeBSD and compile it in Darwin then install it? Again, that idea could be TOTALLY wrong.

 

Thanks to anyone who can help me understand.

[tweak]

i think this might tell you more of what you need to know

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XNU

 

you can read this on apple's site starting on page 2.

 

http://developer.apple.com/documentation/D..._section_3.html

 

"Although the BSD layer of Mac OS X is derived from 4.4BSD, keep in mind that it is not identical to 4.4BSD. Some functionality of 4.4 BSD has not been included in Mac OS X. Some new functionality has been added. The cited reference materials are recommended for additional reading. However, they should not be presumed as forming a definitive description of Mac OS X."

 

hope that helps

[Drake Wolfe]

That's some interesting brain candy, thanks for the info.