Quote:> I have considerable experience developing for Linux and VxWorks,
> including complex multi-threaded and multi-processor applications, but
> no experience at all with developing for Solaris.
> I need to know if my Linux experience is directly transportable to
> Solaris, or if there are sufficient differences to make the jump
> non-trivial.
> Now I am quite confident that the transformation would be easy, but I
> had a very frustrating experience today with a thoroughly clueless
> agency recruiter who had no idea what Solaris and Unix and Linux are
> but took it upon herself to assume that none of my Linux background
> was applicable to her Solaris requirement.
> I could use some ammo for the next time I have to try to deal with
> some imbecile who doesn't know her *from third base. :-(
> Maybe there's more to the transition than I think... any guidance out
> there?
Depends on the application type and what tools you're going to work
with. Sun's compiler,de*,make differ from gcc/gdb/gmake, so you
might have to become acquainted with them. Performance and library
debugging (tools) are different. Also, some Linux developers are used
to rely on gcc/glib extensions without even knowing, so they're
usually in for a surprise. Then some interfaces differ, e.g. STREAMS
programming is something you presumably won't know from Linux, and GUI
development is ususally done in Motif (or Java these days). Software
packaging and other stuff surrounding and relating to development
differ, e.g. shell scripts are often required to run with the Bourne
resp. Korn shell and not with Bash. It's all those details which can
add up and distinguish the Solaris expert from the Solaris beginner.
That said, of course there are considerable similarities. One handy
buzzword is POSIX, which affects lots of interfaces like networking or
multithreading. If you've done application development on that level,
much of your knowlegde is more or less directly transportable, and you
can explicitly refer to standardized interfaces available on both
systems.
I'd really be cautious though not to advertise myself too much,
depending on the type of contract. It might really take some time
before you get productive on Solaris, and on a short term contract
that could lead to an embarassing experience. Best thing to do really
is download and install Solaris and Sun compilers yourself and check
out how comfortable you are.
Regards, Bruno.
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