123 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
123 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
LINUX INFORMATION SHEET
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(last updated 13 Jan 1992 (with changes by Linus 4.4.92))
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1. WHAT IS LINUX 0.95a
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LINUX 0.95a 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 complete source code by
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anonymous FTP. LINUX runs only on 386/486 AT-bus machines; porting to
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non-Intel architectures is likely to be difficult, as the kernel makes
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extensive use of 386 memory management and task primitives.
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Version 0.95a 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
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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) (as well as 'ash', 'rc' etc)
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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 6 national keyboards: Finnish/US/German/French/British/Danish
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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.) Both DX and SX
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processors will work.
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- A hard disk implementing the standard AT hard disk interface -- for
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example, an IDE drive. In addition, some SCSI drives are supported
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with additional kernel patches.
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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 gcc
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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 four serial lines (2 active at a time)
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- A real time clock
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4. PARTIAL LIST OF UTILITIES INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE FOR LINUX 0.95a
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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 and 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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- TeX, dvips
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- and lots more...
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5. LINUX BINARIES
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The LINUX binaries and sources are available at several different
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anonymous FTP sites. The biggest 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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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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Linux is (C) Linus Torvalds, but the copyright is the GNU copyleft:
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get a copy of the copyleft at your nearest ftp-archive..
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7. NEWS ABOUT LINUX
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There are now two newsgroups devoted to linux articles: an older
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alt.os.linux and the new comp.os.linux group. The alt-group will be
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phased out as the comp-group gets a wider propagation. Additionally,
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there are a couple of mailing-lists: linux-activists@niksula.hut.fi is
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the original mailing-list, and it now supports sub-threads (notably the
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gcc-2 beta-testing list). There is also a linux-standards mailing list
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as well as a newsgroup-service for those that can get mail but are
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unable to read the newsgroups. For the current status of LINUX, do a
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"finger 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 more complete virtual filesystem layer
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- STREAMS
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- Interprocess communication
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- IEEE POSIX P1003.1 / P1003.2 compatibility
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- more complete SCSI support
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If you want to help, mail the various activists or post to the newsgroups.
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