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Maltimore

@janneke @fsf @fsfe

What I don't understand: such a bootstrap must've been done at least once before in history, otherwise we wouldn't have any compiled programs, right? Why wasn't it possible to go the route of the previous bootstrap again? I'd appreciate a link to some further reading on this. 🙏

27 Apr 2023 at 6:52 | Wall-to-wall | Open on social.tchncs.de
3 comments
Janneke

@maltimore @fsf @fsfe
Some reasons for this include: The process wasn't documented, the code was lost, used many different hardwares, it took about 50 years, untangling history is _hard_.

For that last remark, just look at the Java or Rust bootstraps (they needed _many_, _many_ steps) or the sheer impossibility to bootstrap the NPM/Node distaster.

27 Apr 2023 at 7:02 | Open on todon.nl
Andrius Štikonas

@janneke @maltimore @fsf @fsfe Also historical bootstrap might have used proprietary programs, so even historical bootstrap documentation might not help.

27 Apr 2023 at 14:10 | Open on fosstodon.org
Janneke

@stikonas @maltimore @fsf @fsfe
When I said "source code was lost" I didn't even think of this, but you're right: GNU's not Unix!

27 Apr 2023 at 14:21 | Open on todon.nl
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