lewis@bnrmtl.bnr.ca (Pierre Lewis) (04/06/91)
Hi Minixers (is this the right term?) I have read ast's book, the FAQ, the MINIX info sheet, the PH summary of it (that they mailed to me), and have been reading this newsgroup for a (short) while. I plan to buy Minix and run it on a PS/2-25 (8086 CPU, 640K, two 3.5i). I even have the demo disk (although it won't run on my PS/2 because it assumes there is a hard disk) which has answered some of my questions. Here are a few questions about Minix, V1.5.10 PC (the latest PH version): - When did it come out? Where is it advertized (or why did I need a Coherent add to find out about Minix?)? Are older versions still for sale (assuming I want to teach a course with it - but since I not a prof at present, this is a very academic question!)? - What terminal does the console emulate. From postings (termcap) in this newsgroup and some echo experimentation with demo disk, it seems to support a subset of VT-100 (e.g. basic stuff is there, but no scroll region). - Does it support two (more) virtual consoles? So I could logon as myself on one and as root on the other. With some F-key to toggle. - Does it support RAM disk in expanded memory? - Does the native cc+ld support more than the tiny model (everything in 64K)? The book version (V1.1?) allowed compiling separate I+D under MS-DOS. This is really the most important question. Cross compilation on MS-DOS doesn't really appeal to me (I would drown under diskettes :-). Other alternatives if it doesn't? - There is terminal emulation as part of the comm package. What terminals does it emulate? VT100 must be there, but what else? How good is the VT100 emulation (hope it's not deficient like the one of my current comm). - Do the editors use curses or termcap? Does mined work with any (RS-232) terminal (assuming a termcap entry or whatever - the demodisk has no termcap, yet mined works great)? - What upgrades, if any, beyond 1.5.10 are recommended to normal users (as opposed to people very much into systems software). Are bug fixes available otherwise (I presume upgrades include bug fixes but also some other stuff). I'm sure that where the official version does not include a feature, there are at least two other valid alternatives: - "You have the code, fix it!" as the FAQ nicely puts it (that's the whole point of Minix isn't it?), - Find something in the archives (the problem with searching the archives is that it seems a lot of stuff there is for pre-1.5 versions hence my questions). On the last topic, it would be really nice if the info sheet that's published monthly would list the more important contributions (xstdio?, nice()s?, etc) with a very brief description of what the thing does. At least the things mentioned in the archives in the info sheet would help (the alternative is to go to each site and download their README files and the like). E.g., I would like to see something like: NAME COMPONENT DESCRIPTION Lew's nice kernel improves scheduling, adds nice(2). xstdio lib what?! Minix has no stdio?! Impossible elvis command vi emulation format command so you no longer need DOS? shoelace hiking should always have a spare pair (to reboot?) clams hiking enjoy once you get to the end of your hike tar bug fix command fixes a bug in V1.5.10 I don't really intend to let my Minix wander very far from home (PH), but a couple of things are going to be real handy (assuming they're not already in PH): RAM in expanded, virtual consoles, and full VT100 emulation on the console. I might add some and other goodies on my own as exercises (e.g. VT100, screen blank), others might be a bit too tricky without proper documentation (e.g. expanded memory). Another thing I would like is an official bug list for the PH version (assuming there are some of course). I remember reading something about a tar bug fix (in some article list). But unless I fetch it, I won't know whether it applies to 1.5.10 or to an earlier release or to someone's contribution. Does it concern Minix talking to Minix, or Minix talking to other systems? I'm trying to get a feel for what the system is capable of (as it comes from PH) and what work I'll need to add those features I want (whether I do it or download it from archives). Looks very interesting in any case! Thanks in advance for all answers -- Pierre LEWIS +1 514 765 8207 Internet: bnrmtl!lewis@Larry.McRCIM.McGill.EDU Lubarsky's law of cybernetic entomology: There is always one more bug!