jimj@iwtpm.ATT.COM (jennings james) (09/03/88)
I just completed getting an entire development "system" up here at work on
my 3B2/500. This included modifying the floppy disk driver so that it can
read and write MINIX file systems, and create MINIX boot floppies with the
limitation that I can not handle 1.2M diskettes (hardware limited).
I purchased the MINIX 1.2 compiler source and have it running (with a few
modifications) and am able to create and work with MINIX libraries.
(FYI, the compiler is as comparatively slow on this machine as on the PC.)
(Is there a compiler expert in the MINIX user community anywhere??)
Having done so, a few observations are in order:
+ I ported the lorder command over ... nothing structurally different,
with the latest code changes and it still doesn't do the job! I am
not limited by stack space, etc. (Food for thought ... as a developer
involved with UNIX/etc. on all of the 3B2 machines here at work, I
immediately went to SVR3.2 lorder source code and discovered that it is
a shell script which uses "nm" to do its thing.)
+ The repost of #39 made by AST just prior to his leaving on a well
deserved vacation is still in error ... two header files still have
the wrong character count when they are extracted ... (now that I
shot my mouth off, I can't go back and figure out which ones they
were) I will take a shot in the dark and say they were dp8390stat.h
and eplinfo.h. Has anyone else observed that?
+ AST's posting of #34 calls for the removal of "SECONDARY_VECTOR" from
the header file kernel/const.h. However, the kernel never changed and
still needs to have it defined (see kernel/main.c around line #172). I
simply re-instated into the header file and compiled away. This needs
to be clarified though.
+ AST's posting of #31 indicated an error when extracting ... the file
"tty" extracted with 4 characters in it whilest the file should have
had 7. Additionally, "tty" isn't any different from the 1.2 version.
How does one get the "other tty" working ... as soon as that happens
this AT&T 6312 WGS immediately becomes a forever MINIX machine instead
of having to use "ctrm" onto the 3B2.
(PS: Add that machine to the list of known working machines)
+ On my list of things to do:
- I plan on subjecting MINIX to the very same test procedures we
use for verifying the UNIX kernel and commands (where applicable)
in an effort to make it as sound as possible.
- See if I can ferret out the cursed STATIC bug problem in the compiler.
Its down right maddening!!!
- Finish off my version of "vi" which is a re-work of the mined editor.
However, I fear someone else will beat me to the punch ... stevie
just might end up being ported over!
- Bring up and add to MINIX the PDCURSES package ... problem here
is how does one implement the msdos kbhit() routine ... gonna
have to once again modify the tty.c driver.
- Finish my "homebrew" 68K machine with its 2M of memory and port
MINIX over to it.
Jim Jennings
AT&T Bell Laboratories
1100 E. Warrenville Road
Naperville, Illinois 60566
(312) 979-7648
att!iwtjj!jimj