Minix on the ST

MINIX-ST by Werner Müller

This article has been kindly translated and supplied from a
German usergroup magazine called "CCD-INFO", number 16, February
1989.

"Minix ST" is an alternative operating system for the Atari ST.
Its function calls are mostly compatible with the UNIX 7
operating system.
It is created mainly for learning about operating systems. Its
documentation is in English, and no German version of that is
available.

The Operating System is provided complete with its source code,
and also as a piece of executable code. A C-compiler (without
source) that's compatible with Kerninghma and Ritchie is
included, as well as 60 utlity programs known from UNIX (source
code only). A simple editor, which is used like EMACS, is elso
provided.
The OS only supports Textscreen (VT52 Terminal), Floppy Disk and
Harddisk. There is, unfortunately, no support for the serial
port, graphics, the mouse, ROM cards, etc. Also, no "umlaute" are
possible. It is multi-tasking, and can therefore run several
programs at the same time. In contract to UNIX, it's a single
user system.

How does MINIX work in practice?

When you open the package you find 9 single sided diskets. You
must first make safety copies and then you can start preparing
the operating systems for the first trials.

(Takes about 1 hour)

You convert the diskets to double sided discs and costumize a
RAM disk. The RAM disks contains the main directory and the
utility programs you always need.

(Takes 1 day....)

Then you can try to create and compile a simple C program "Hello
world" .... and it will work.

(Total time required: 5-10 minutes)

If you want to use and modify the source you must first
decompress it.

(This will require a free weekend)

Er....Who should try to get MINIX-ST?

- The person must be able to read and understand english
- The basics of the C language should be known
- The person should be able to quikly type long texts
(one command requires about 30 keystrokes or more....)
- The person should have a connection to BITNET
Updates are available via Bitnet
Problems are discussed there and
Mister Tannenbaum helps if it get really difficult
- The person wants to learn UNIX
- The person should have time

DID you survive? See you again on MINIX-L on bitnet!

People who are just interesting in operating systems should try
to get the book from A.S. Tannenbaum I will mention in a sec.
It's a really nicely written text on operating system. I learned
a lot on problems one has to solve if you want to create your own
operating system.

In Germany, you can get this operating system from:
eMEDIA GMBH
Bissendorfer Straße 8
Postfach 610106
D-3000 Hannover 61
It costs DM 228 (for Atari ST) or DM 248 (for IBM PC).

Most likely, you'll also need the book:
A.S. Tannenbaum
Operating Systems; Design and Implementation
DM 69.-
ISBN number: 0-13-637331-3

It is sold from Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NY 07632,
United States of America.