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[unix-history] / sbin / init.bsdi / README

This is the source for a version of /sbin/init that runs on 4.4
BSD and BSD/386 1.0 systems.  I wrote it for BSDI about two years
ago and BSDI donated the source to UC Berkeley CSRG, but CSRG didn't
get it working in time to include it with the Networking 2 release,
although we had hoped it would appear there.  Since that time both
BSDI and CSRG have worked on it to make it more useful and reliable,
and recently the two groups have merged our efforts and produced
a common version once more.  Since the source is freely redistributable
under the terms of the standard BSD copyright, I'm posting it to
the net on behalf of BSDI so other folks might get some use from
it.  Keep in mind that I'm only paid to support this code if you
bought a system from BSDI, so I probably won't be able to make very
timely responses to random bug reports, but I am interested in
seeing them.  (More formally: Neither BSDI nor I personally will
make any guarantees about the reliability or usefulness of this
code, and it's unsupported unless you have a support agreement.)

I also make no promises that this code will just drop in and work
on any particular system.  Please don't call me at home to tell me
that you compiled and installed init, and now your system won't
boot.  With a program as sensitive as init, you should always be
prepared to fall back to an earlier working version if the new one
fails.  ALWAYS save your old version before installing, and ALWAYS
be prepared to boot from an alternate root (e.g. a floppy) if the
new init fails.  I strongly advise you to read the man page carefully
before you install.  One advance warning: I don't think anyone has
ever tested the window system start-up code.  One of these days...
This code is running on my systems at home, and an earlier version
is running on hundreds of BSDI systems, so it can't be too broken.

Enjoy,

Donn Seeley
Berkeley Software Design, Inc.  (Salt Lake City)
June 14, 1993