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Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

pdos.csail.mit.edu

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Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#91
post #62
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting are systems like Xerox PARC Workstations (Mesa, Cedar, Smalltalk, Interlisp-D), ETHZ Oberon, Inferno, Apollo/Domain, Tru64, QNX.

QNX it's another Unix in the end any the Photon GUI it's nothing odd to any KDE/Windows 2000 user. Smalltalk has issues on exporting your software to be run under a standalone way. On Interlisp, there's Mezzano, a Common Lisp OS, but it needs some tweaks and optimizations. Oberon UI wise it's the same as Acme under p9/9front/p9port. On Inferno, 9front and Go superseded it in some ideas.

> Smalltalk has issues on exporting your software to be run under a standalone way.

What issues?

Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#92
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

While I also find the handle quite objectionable, I wouldn't say that "racewar" and "genocide" are words which can be freely exchanged without lack of meaning. A review of the contributors, well, contributions, suggests a 9front connection. They have a reputation for humor in very poor taste, but insofar as there's any sincerity to be found there, it isn't that of sincere genocide enjoyers.

agreed; 'genocide' has a derogatory connotation absent from 'race war', and people actually promoting genocide tend to use other rhetoric entirely

Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#93
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Vonn Neumann architecture does not expose the same structural flaws monolithic kernels do—namely, their (of course tendency in modern computing to be) massive size and their failure scenarios in the event of a problem. Old is not always a problem, but monolithic kernels face the same problems they did in the 80s. It's not surprising Apple is moving away from kernel drivers and into userspace functionality.

apple started with mach, which was a microkernel, and linked basically all of the freebsd kernel into it, morphing it from a microkernel operating system into a monolithic operating system i agree that monolithic kernels are unpleasant and brittle, but unfortunately they don't actually seem to be obsolete

Mach as deployed at NeXT was also never a microkernel, and combined the BSD 4.2 kernel. I believe this is also effectively what OSF/1 did with the OSF variant of Mach.

Mach has basically always supported that kind of use, even back to early CMU research versions.

Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#95

Plan9 was/is used at a university is Spain for teaching

https://doc.cat-v.org/plan_9/9.intro.pdf

Francisco J. Ballesteros Laboratorio de Sistemas, Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid Madrid, Spain 2006

Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#96

I have ways wanted to understand the Windows NT kernel -- maybe the earlier versions as they are simpler. I heard the first version is close to VMS. Is it true? Is there any material on VMS? OpenVMS is open sourced but the version is too high.

WTF?

> I heard the first version is close to VMS.

No.

> Is it true?

No.

> Is there any material on VMS?

Tons. It came with metres of docs. It is still on sale. You can get a freebie hobbyist VM image.

> OpenVMS is open sourced

No, it isn't.

> but the version is too high.

Not true.

Always, always check your assumptions before asking a question. If you want to ask "because (a) can I (b)" then check A is true before asking. ALWAYS.

Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#97
post #84
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just wait until the Linux founding fathers are no longer around. Try to write Linux POSIX code for Android, WebOS, and ChromeOS apps, and see how many normies will buy your wonderfull app. Free beer ate the world, everyone likes free beer, even it is warm.

Alan Cox will do it fine, and the rest of the people have similar skills on GNU licensing and such.

I think he counts as one of the founding fathers. He was the second-in-command when I met him in about 1997 or 1998.

And note what he turned to when he left: an 8-bit OS.

https://www.fuzix.org/

Where do you think he got that antipathy for large and complex systems?

Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#98
post #62
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting are systems like Xerox PARC Workstations (Mesa, Cedar, Smalltalk, Interlisp-D), ETHZ Oberon, Inferno, Apollo/Domain, Tru64, QNX.

QNX it's another Unix in the end any the Photon GUI it's nothing odd to any KDE/Windows 2000 user. Smalltalk has issues on exporting your software to be run under a standalone way. On Interlisp, there's Mezzano, a Common Lisp OS, but it needs some tweaks and optimizations. Oberon UI wise it's the same as Acme under p9/9front/p9port. On Inferno, 9front and Go superseded it in some ideas.

Gilad Bracha is working on that with Newspeak:

https://www.bracha.org/Site/Newspeak.html

Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#99

Took this class at MIT. 20/10 would recommend, especially for people who don't come from a systems background. The textbook is quite easy to understand and the labs are a very good check of your comprehension. Just maybe skip the network driver on the first go around :P

Took a class at UCI which copied much of the MIT class and dumbed it way down for us. Would recommend

Took the same class at UCI (with Prof Anton Burtsev). Best class I ever took.

Re: Xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system

#100
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And? What's wrong with k8s and containerized setups? Linux evolved numerous features over the years responding to server room challenges. Some of them look monolithic, others are decomposable, in any case linux became the default dev target platform for everything. Minix might be nice, but linux has won, and it was NEVER about os architecture.

Because it is travesty of what is effectively a microkernel architecture. A free beer UNIX clone won, that is quite different than any technical advantages. Even Android does the same with Binder IPC, since Project Treble.

I would say the masses won in this case, instead of academics and CEOs in high towers… now they have to share some power with the rabble.
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