CFV: comp.os.linux
Ari Lemmke
HOW TO VOTE:
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To vote YES ,send e-mail to:
To vote NO ,send e-mail to:
VOTING PERIOD:
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The voting period starts now and will last
through 00:00 UTC (7:00pm EST), 19 March 1992.
------------------------------AND HERE'S COPY OF THE RFD:comp.os.linux---
Request for Discussion
======= === ==========
GROUP: comp.os.linux
STATUS: unmoderated
PURPOSE:
Linux-related discussion: Linux kernel hacking, porting utilities
to Linux, Linux bug-fixes, and implementing new features in Linux.
----------------------
What's Linux ?
Linux is a UNIX clone, which currently runs only on 386/486 machines.
Linux is freely distributable (within rules in the Linux copyright)
and available with the complete source code.
Why comp.os.linux ?
Our mailing list has now far too much traffic, which has caused some
unsubscribtions, but still we have ~400 subscribers (and ~10 mailing
lists) - which is really too big, because list users activity is
real high.
What happens to Linux-activists mailing list?
There will be a News <-> Mail Digest gateway for people people who do
not have access to Usenet, much like the comp.lang.perl <->
Perl-...@fuggles.acc.Virginia.edu mailing list. It is anticipated,
however, that the vast majority of the Linux community will be using
the comp.os.linux newsgroup.
When will voting begin ?
Voting will begin on Februrary 18th, one month after the posting of
this Call for Discussion. Theodore Ts'o (ty...@athena.mit.edu) will
serve as vote collector; the exact address and voting procedures will
be contained in the Call For Votes when it is issued. The usual
requirements (2/3 of the votes in favor, and at least 100 more YES
votes than NO votes) will apply.
arl // a...@hut.fi, Ari Lemmke
--------------------------------------------------
LINUX INFORMATION SHEET
by Robert Blum (bl...@cip-s01.informatik.rwth-aachen.de) et al.
(last updated 13 Jan 1992)
1. WHAT IS LINUX
LINUX 0.12 is a freely distributable UNIX clone. It implements a
subset of System V and POSIX functionality. LINUX has been written
>from scratch, and therefore does not contain any AT&T or MINIX
code--not in the kernel, the compiler, the utilities, or the libraries.
For this reason it can be made available with the complete source code
via anonymous FTP. LINUX runs only on 386/486 AT-bus machines; porting
to non-Intel architectures is likely to be difficult, as the kernel
makes extensive use of 386 memory management and task primitives.
Version 0.12 is still a beta release, but it already provides much
of the functionality of a System V.3 kernel. For example, various
users have been able to port programs such as bison/flex without having
to modify code at all. Another indication of its maturity is that
it is now possible to do LINUX kernel development using LINUX itself
and freely-available programming tools.
2. LINUX features
- System call compatible with a subset of System V and POSIX
- Full multiprogramming (multiple programs can run at once)
- Memory paging with copy-on-write
- Demand loading of executables
- Page sharing of executables
- Virtual memory: swapping to disk when out of RAM
- POSIX job control
- virtual consoles on EGA/VGA screens
- pty's
- some 387-emulation
- ANSI compliant C compiler (gcc)
- A complete set of compiler writing tools
(bison as yacc-replacement, flex as lex replacement)
- The GNU 'Bourne again' shell (bash)
- Micro emacs
- most utilities you need for development
(cat, cp, kermit, ls, make, etc.)
- Over 200 library procedures (atoi, fork, malloc, read, stdio, etc.)
- Currently 4 national keyboards: Finnish/US/German/French
- Full source code (in C) for the OS is freely distributable
- Full source code of the tools can be gotten from many anonymous ftp sites
(Almost the entire suite of GNU programs has been ported to Linux.)
- Runs in protected mode on 386 and above
- Support for extended memory up to 16M on 386 and above
- RS-232 serial line support with terminal emulation, kermit, zmodem, etc.
- Supports the real time clock
3. HARDWARE REQUIRED
- A 386 or 486 machine with an AT-bus. (EISA will probably work, also,
but you will need an AT-bus hard disk controller.)
Both DX and SX processors will work.
- A hard disk implementing the standard AT hard disk interface--
for example, an IDE drive. SCSI drives are not supported yet.
- A high-density disk drive--either 5.25" (1.2MB) or 3.5" (1.44MB).
- At least 2 megabytes of RAM. (LINUX will boot in 2 Mb. To use
gcc 4 MB is a good idea.)
- Any video card of the following: Hercules,CGA,EGA,VGA
In addition, LINUX supports
- Up to two serial lines
- A real time clock
4. PARTIAL LIST OF UTILITIES INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE FOR LINUX 0.12
- The MTOOLS package (reading/writing to DOS filesystems)
- The complete GNU filetools (ls, cat, cp, mv, ...)
- The GNU C compiler with GNU assembler, linker, ar, ...
- bison
- flex
- rcs
- pmake (BSD 4.3 Reno/BSD 4.4 make)
- kermit
- Micro emacs
- less
- mkfs
- fsck
- mount/umount
5. LINUX BINARIES
The LINUX binaries and sources are available at three
anonymous FTP sites. These are:
nic.funet.fi:/pub/OS/Linux
tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux
tupac-amaru.informatik.rwth-aachen.de:/pub/msdos/replace
6. LEGAL STATUS OF LINUX
Although LINUX is supplied with the complete source code, it is
copyrighted software. Unlike MINIX, however, it is available for free,
provided you obey to the rules specified in the LINUX copyright.
7. NEWS ABOUT LINUX
Since LINUX's introduction to the public there has been a rapidly
growing mailing list, "linux-a...@niksula.hut.fi". To subscribe to
this list, mail to "linux-activ...@niksula.hut.fi". If the
traffic in this lists increases further, there are plans to swap ( at
least partially ) over to comp.os.misc, so watch out for any LINUX
articles in this group. For the current status of LINUX, do "finger
torv...@kruuna.helsinki.fi".
8. FUTURE PLANS
Work is underway on LINUX version 1.0, which will close some of the
gaps in the present implementation. Various people are currently working
on:
- A virtual filesystem layer
- STREAMS
- init/getty/login
- Interprocess communication
- IEEE POSIX P1003.1 / P1003.2 compatibility
- SCSI support
If you want to help, join the mailing list.