EOAHMAD%NTIVAX.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu (10/15/90)
Despite what every body in this discussion list told me, the MINIX which we got here does not have a C compiler even in executable form. Our MINIX is tittled(as stated on the boot disk label): MINIX BINARIES AND SOURCES FOR 256K IBM PC'S by Andrew S. Tanenbaum c 1987 Prentice-Hall, Inc, ISBN: 0-13-583881-9 BOOT DISKETTE MINIX 1.1 Since I need the sorces for the C compiler for research purposes, I ordered the ACK sources from TRANSMEDIAIR for U.S.$150.00, licensed for ten years only. It came in 2 1.2M diskettes but both of them are almost empty, and one showed errors when tested with fsck from our minix boot disk. It came only with one page description on how to compile minix on non-Minix systems but the diskette is in Minix format and we do not have any doswrite programs. I prefer to work in Msdos environment. My interest in Minix is from the point of view of a Hardware Engineer. Minix provides a 'defined' platform to develop interface software and microprocessor architecture design. Software people had made a mess of their working environment unlike the hardware people. For that reason I have to take over software development in an effort to produce defined platforms for our hardware systems. The closest is Unix and C but Unix is not priced according to Market needs. Imagine that circuit diagrams of Apple and IBM PCs were sold for $100,000.00. Minix and FSF is the closest. However Minix(including Andy) people does not understand the real potential of their approach. Most just look at it as a toy, cheap sorces for development into more efficient but bulky and demanding software at the expense of hardware efficiency. E.g. the requirement for Memory management hardware. The fastest hardware systems cannot work with memory management chips. I would recommend that the Minix group works towards a 'standardised' treatment for memory management for high speed systems(the RISC approach). Without realising it (judging from the lack of comments from the few real Minix system developers) , they had used the parent operating systems for their memory management approach, except for IBM PC because it had been decreed 'brain damaged' by the software people. Therefore they had to handle the executable file formats for TOS (CPM 68K for ATARI ST), Finder (Mackintosh), Helios (Amiga). The brain- damaged 8088 already has a primitive memory management, but 'they' refused to adopt the excellent MSDOS EXE executable file format to break the 64K barrier. I only give you the hints. Don't underestimate an Engineer. I'll prove to all of you but I need the manual for ACK and (therefore) asld, to be efficient. asld uses some novel techniques with regard to integration with the C compiler. Please give any comments to OTHMAN AHMAD, SCHOOL OF EEE, NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, SINGAPORE 2263 E-MAIL: EOAHMAD@NTIVAX.BITNET