Linux in the Early Days: pre-Kernel Version 1.0
In my last post, I pointed out an old archived file listing that I had
resurrected from my dusty collection of 5 1/4" floppy diskettes. Now, let
me point you to another file containing arcana that may have escaped the
younger amongst us.
The file, http://gra.ph/~xenos/lxv95ain.txt, is the Linux Information
Sheet which was circulating circa 1992. It is dated 4.4.92 with updates by
Linus himself.
Briefly, the information sheet details the state of then version 0.95a of
the kernel. That was a beta version of Linux. It was unencumbered
(legally) as it was written from scratch. No AT&T code, no Minix code, not
even in the supporting code bases. It remains that way, 9 years since.
Back then, Linux ran only on 386/486 AT-bus machines. No non-Intel
architectures were supported. Today, Linux runs on a variety of different
hardware architectures. Last time I checked the official source tree, it
supported 9 major architectures comprising the Alpha (Digital/Compaq), ARM
(Netwinder), i386 (Intel 0x[3-6]86 and clones), m68k (Motorola 68000
family), mips, ppc, s390, sparc and sparc64. There are various projects
that attempt to further the scope of Linux platform compatibility.
It was a fledgeling operating system then, providing the functionality of
a System V.3 kernel with not too many userland applications to speak of. I
seriously doubt that many newcomers to Linux today would be as
enthusiastic about Linux back then because of the serious lack of
applications. The only use for Linux then was to for further kernel
development using Linux itself or to possibly port programs such as
bison/flex. No X Windowing System yet. No cool eye candy desktops. No
fancy toys. These days, there are so many applications to try out that
learning one new application a day would keep one occupied for years on
end. There is much more to do on Linux now than simply developing the
kernel, though that is still one good reason to use Linux. The fact that
Linux's source code was and is still available for free in its entirety
has made it a good choice for developing for.
It had a feature set that fit on less than one page. Today, it has so many
features that the average joe user would ever use all of them and yet, the
features are there for the non-average pedro. And since we have access to
the source code, it is still extensible even further. Like Smalltalk,
Linux is a ball of mud onto which we can add so much more mud. Such fun
for us mudpie makers.
It had the following hardware requirements:
--8<------[snippet]------>8----
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. In addition, some SCSI drives are supported with
additional kernel patches.
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 four serial lines (2 active at a time)
- A real time clock
--8<------[end of snippet]------>8----
Notice that Linux did not support networking at all at that time. Yet
today, we see Linux being deployed on a large number of machines running
on networks.
Take a look at the document and then compare what it describes with Linux
the way you see it today. I'm fairly sure you'll be encouraged by how far
Linux has gotten since then. From what many considered as a toy operating
system, Linux has evolved into much more than what Linus had originally
started out with.
--
Author's note: Lack of sleep causes one to lose coherence, so I had to cut
this short. Neither did I go through the usual process of drafting,
editing and rewriting for want of time and the Sandman beckoning.
___ eric pareja ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ~-=[O]=-~ Here, have a clue. Get the picture.
\@/ PGP key at http://gra.ph/~xenos/xenos.pgp <|PLUG|> http://gra.ph
v "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
- Emperor Cleon in "Foundation's Fear" by Gregory Benford
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