NT vs. UNIX: A debate of Olympic proportions. (Plane Talk).(Brief Article)

I may be taking a bigger leap here than a 148-meter ski jump, but while reading the hype about the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, I couldn't help remembering the excitement generated by past publicity for EDA operating systems. As we all know, claims about EDA operating systems, or platforms, have been as outrageous as the $450 daily room rate charged by a well-known inn located 45 minutes from Park City.

Take NT for example, which according to the pundits who claim to know everything about the design automation industry, should have been the dominant platform by now. "NT will be the end all and be all," they said, "and UNIX will fade into the background, like a polar bear caught in a whiteout in the Wasatch Mountains."

Like the Olympic hullabaloo, the zest for NT is beginning to leave me, and many others, cold. In fact, not only has the NT promise evaporated like so many icicles in the noon sun, it looks like Linux, or even Windows XP, has a better chance of winning a gold medal for adoption in the years ahead. This is no snow job.

Although it may send a chill through some quarters, it has to be said: Many engineers despise NT as an EDA platform. Some have threatened to quit if it is shoved down their throats by corporate standardization mandates. Why? As a DOS-dependent offspring, NT cannot escape its genetic origins: It can be unruly, unstable, uncooperative and a lot of other "uns," none of which make for a solid base on which to build reliable applications. Many engineers also are uncomfortable with relying on a closed operating system controlled by one company.

To be fair, not everyone dislikes NT, and some benchmarks come out in its favor. Also, as an entrenched entity in many companies, NT has a lot of inertia going for it, both in design workstations and productivity applications. But the future seems to point to Linux and other operating systems or platforms, including Java, XP, and others.

Benchmarks for simulators and other applications appear to favor Linux over NT as a platform for running EDA tools. Even as a server, NT bows to Linux in benchmark tests run by some well-known PC magazines and major PC/server manufacturers.

Tests seem to come down on the side of Linux when it comes to the reliability, scalability and stability needed for mission-critical systems. And many initial objections to Linux are fading away; its use is widespread. Large companies and organizations are beginning to take responsibility for it. It can be found engaged in a variety of applications, ranging from corporate IP departments to EDA groups to embedded handheld products. It is an open source product, and it is evolving.