118 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
118 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
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LINUX INFORMATION SHEET
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(last updated 13 Jan 1992)
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1. WHAT IS LINUX 0.12
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LINUX 0.12 is a freely distributable UNIX clone. It implements a
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subset of System V and POSIX functionality. LINUX has been written
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from scratch, and therefore does not contain any AT&T or MINIX
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code--not in the kernel, the compiler, the utilities, or the libraries.
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For this reason it can be made available with the complete source code
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via anonymous FTP. LINUX runs only on 386/486 AT-bus machines; porting
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to non-Intel architectures is likely to be difficult, as the kernel
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makes extensive use of 386 memory management and task primitives.
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Version 0.12 is still a beta release, but it already provides much
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of the functionality of a System V.3 kernel. For example, various
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users have been able to port programs such as bison/flex without having
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to modify code at all. Another indication of its maturity is that
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it is now possible to do LINUX kernel development using LINUX itself
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and freely-available programming tools.
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2. LINUX features
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- System call compatible with a subset of System V and POSIX
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- Full multiprogramming (multiple programs can run at once)
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- Memory paging with copy-on-write
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- Demand loading of executables
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- Page sharing of executables
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- Virtual memory: swapping to disk when out of RAM
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- POSIX job control
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- virtual consoles on EGA/VGA screens
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- pty's
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- some 387-emulation
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- ANSI compliant C compiler (gcc)
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- A complete set of compiler writing tools
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(bison as yacc-replacement, flex as lex replacement)
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- The GNU 'Bourne again' shell (bash)
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- Micro emacs
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- most utilities you need for development
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(cat, cp, kermit, ls, make, etc.)
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- Over 200 library procedures (atoi, fork, malloc, read, stdio, etc.)
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- Currently 4 national keyboards: Finnish/US/German/French
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- Full source code (in C) for the OS is freely distributable
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- Full source code of the tools can be gotten from many anonymous ftp sites
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(Almost the entire suite of GNU programs has been ported to Linux.)
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- Runs in protected mode on 386 and above
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- Support for extended memory up to 16M on 386 and above
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- RS-232 serial line support with terminal emulation, kermit, zmodem, etc.
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- Supports the real time clock
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3. HARDWARE REQUIRED
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- A 386 or 486 machine with an AT-bus. (EISA will probably work, also,
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but you will need an AT-bus hard disk controller.)
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Both DX and SX processors will work.
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- A hard disk implementing the standard AT hard disk interface--
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for example, an IDE drive. SCSI drives are not supported yet.
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- A high-density disk drive--either 5.25" (1.2MB) or 3.5" (1.44MB).
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- At least 2 megabytes of RAM. (LINUX will boot in 2 Mb. To use
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gcc 4 MB is a good idea.)
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- Any video card of the following: Hercules,CGA,EGA,VGA
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In addition, LINUX supports
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- Up to two serial lines
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- A real time clock
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4. PARTIAL LIST OF UTILITIES INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE FOR LINUX 0.12
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- The MTOOLS package (reading/writing to DOS filesystems)
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- The complete GNU filetools (ls, cat, cp, mv, ...)
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- The GNU C compiler with GNU assembler, linker, ar, ...
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- bison
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- flex
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- rcs
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- pmake (BSD 4.3 Reno/BSD 4.4 make)
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- kermit
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- Micro emacs
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- less
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- mkfs
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- fsck
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- mount/umount
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5. LINUX BINARIES
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The LINUX binaries and sources are available at three
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anonymous FTP sites. These are:
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nic.funet.fi:/pub/OS/Linux
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tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux
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tupac-amaru.informatik.rwth-aachen.de:/pub/msdos/replace
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6. LEGAL STATUS OF LINUX
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Although LINUX is supplied with the complete source code, it is
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copyrighted software. Unlike MINIX, however, it is available for free,
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provided you obey to the rules specified in the LINUX copyright.
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7. NEWS ABOUT LINUX
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Since LINUX's introduction to the public there has been a rapidly
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growing mailing list, "linux-activists@niksula.hut.fi". To subscribe to
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this list, mail to "linux-activists-request@niksula.hut.fi". If the
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traffic in this lists increases further, there are plans to swap ( at
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least partially ) over to comp.os.misc, so watch out for any LINUX
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articles in this group. For the current status of LINUX, do "finger
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torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi".
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8. FUTURE PLANS
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Work is underway on LINUX version 1.0, which will close some of the
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gaps in the present implementation. Various people are currently working
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on:
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- A virtual filesystem layer
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- STREAMS
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- init/getty/login
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- Interprocess communication
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- IEEE POSIX P1003.1 / P1003.2 compatibility
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- SCSI support
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If you want to help, join the mailing list.
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