STEINER@RUTGERS.ARPA (01/07/85)
From: imagen!geof@Berkeley
Phone: (408) 986-9400 (work)
Postal-Address: IMAGEN, 2650 San Thomas Expressway,
Santa Clara, CA 95052
I've now had a PC/XT running Unix(tm) on my desk for about 3 weeks.
I'd like to give a review.
The machine runs VENIX/Fusion. Venix is unix version 7. Fusion is
Network Research Corp's XNS software (the XNS is the reason I bought
the machine, but I'll review the unix only). The PC is a standard XT
with 512K, and a color graphics card, plus a 3Com card for the
Ethernet interface. The only thing strange about the hardware is
that I used the IBM 64/256 memory card rather than a multifunction
card. I was informed that the second serial interface on a
multifunction card would use the same interrupt level as my 3Com
card.
The software is a binary-only unix, with 16-bit integers. C and
Bourne shell are supported. Unix came up immediately, except for a
bad diskette. The network stuff took quite a bit longer to get up,
because the version of /venix (/unix) was corrupted.
More, Vi, Termcap & Curses are also there, for berkeley lovers. All
the most common unix tools are there:
GREP, LS, {WHO, WRITE}-useless, PS, DIFF, BC, stty, ar, df, ...
TAR - extended to floppy disk, or...
FORMAT - to create a unix file system on floppy disk
UUCP, UUX, CU, uucpmail - works with our 4.1a unix via the serial
port (I don't have a modem, so I haven't tried that).
CC, LINT, YACC, LEX, ADB, MAKE
NROFF (no troff), SPELL, ED, VI, EX
GRAPH, PLOT (on PC screen)
Adb has a bug that prevents setting breakpoints, which eliminates
most of its usefulness. There is an abort() call that allows one to
insert a breakpoint using the compiler (yech). The claim is that the
`next version' of the software fixes this bug.
There is a floating point emulator that is SLOW. An 8087 can speed
things up, I'm told.
All the tools work (except the adb bug), which makes the system very
useable for programming, uucpmail, text editing, etc. I ported Ken
Harrenstein's ELLE emacs lookalike to it for my own use -- there were
no hard-to-solve problems in the port (time for it was initial
compilation time plus about 1/2 hour).
Using the color graphics card, you get four `flip windows' -- the
card is made to look like 4 tty devices, and you flip between them
using ALT-1,2,3,4. This compensates greatly for the lack of
suspended processes a la berkeley, and I would recommend using it.
There are some problems:
With 256K and the default swap space (750 blocks), the system is
crippled: when the compiler runs, nothing else can run, or you run
out of memory. I wasn't even able to do a MAKE (although maybe I
could have with SH instead of CSH). The network code doesn't run
properly with only 256K of memory. I bought 256K more memory and
doubled the swap space (and reloaded the system from floppy, better
to get it right the first time). Now the system is a real small
unix, I can do anything I want and not run out of memory or swap.
Processes are limited to 64K text-64K data and stack. The `next
release' of the software is supposed to support larger text segments.
Text segments are shared, as always.
The system seems to need about .5 more MIPS and a much faster disk.
A compilation of ``HELLO WORLD'' takes 40 seconds (most is disk
wait). The CU (call unix) command loses characters above 1200 Baud,
and this is UUCP's effective limit, too.
An 8088 does not a 68K make. I've managed to have a C program crash
the thing (although this is very very rare), probably by trashing its
own code and then running the debris.
Summary:
It is Unix, real unix, and it comes with all the tools and
documentation that make it a professional caliber system. The buy-in
is real cheap: $750-$1000 for Unix, $750 for network software. Makes
a nice, but small system.
I wonder how Xenix compares? Any reviews?
- Geof Cooper