ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum) (09/17/90)
1. WHAT IS MINIX 1.5
MINIX 1.5 is a new version of an operating system that is very similar to
UNIX. MINIX has been written from scratch, and therefore does not contain any
AT&T code--not in the kernel, the compiler, the utilities, or the libraries.
For this reason it can be made available with the complete source code
(on diskette). It runs on the IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2, 386, and most clones.
Versions are also available for the Atari ST, Macintosh, and Amiga.
This version (1.5) is a major improvement over all previous releases, with
many new features, fewer bugs (hopefully), much better performance, and
proper documentation. The old versions have been in widespread use all over
the world for 3 years. There are probably tens of thousands of users.
2. MINIX 1.5 FEATURES (IBM, Macintosh, Atari, and Amiga versions)
- System call compatible with V7 of the UNIX operating system
- Full multiprogramming (multiple programs can run at once)
- Kernighan and Ritchie compatible C compiler
- Shell that is functionally identical to the Bourne shell
- Five editors (emacs subset, vi clone, ex, ed, and simple screen editor)
- Over 175 utilities (cat, cp, ed, grep, kermit, ls, make, sort, etc.)
- Over 200 library procedures (atoi, fork, malloc, read, stdio, etc.)
- Spelling checker with 40,000 word English dictionary
- Full source code (in C) supplied on diskettes (OS, utilities, libraries)
- Easy-to-read manual telling all about MINIX and how to install and use it
3. ADDITIONAL FEATURES
In addition to the above features, there are other features present in
some (but not all) versions of MINIX 1.5. Some of these are listed below.
3.1 ADDITIONAL MINIX 1.5 FEATURES (IBM VERSION):
- Runs in protected mode on 286 and 386
- Support for extended memory up to 16M on 286 and 386
- Up to 3 simultaneous users on one machine
- RS-232 serial line support with terminal emulation, kermit, zmodem, etc.
- Distributed computing on Ethernet (remote login, etc.)
3.2 ADDITIONAL MINIX 1.5 FEATURES (MACINTOSH VERSION):
- Up to 3 simultaneous users on one machine
- RS-232 serial line support with terminal emulation, kermit, zmodem, etc.
- Runs under Multifinder
- Includes support for multiple user windows
3.3 ADDITIONAL MINIX 1.5 FEATURES (ATARI ST VERSION)
- Up to 2 simultaneous users on one machine
- RS-232 serial line support with terminal emulation, kermit, zmodem, etc.
- Support for various real time clocks (Mega, BMS, ICD, Supra, Weide)
4. HARDWARE REQUIRED
- IBM: PC, XT, AT, PS/2, or 386 that is 100% hardware compatible with
the IBM line. A hard disk not technically required, but is
strongly recommended to take full advantage of the system. At
least 512K of RAM is required, as well as a CGA, EGA,
monochrome, or Hercules video card, or another card that
emulates one of these. Both 5.25" and 3.5" diskettes are
supported, as are printers using the parallel port and modems
and terminals using the serial port.
- Macintosh: Apple Macintosh Plus, SE, SE/30, II, IIcx, or IIx with at
least 1M of RAM. An additional 1M of RAM and a hard disk
is strongly recommended. MINIX has been tested primarily
with version 6.0 and latter of the Apple system software.
Problems may conceivably arise with earlier versions. Any
hard disk or display that is supported by the normal Macintosh
OS is also supported by MINIX.
- Atari: Atari ST or Mega ST with at least 1M of RAM. Although the
system will boot with only 512K, you will be very restricted
in what you can do. A 720K diskette drive is required to
install the software. The older 360K diskette drives are
supported, but are not capable of reading the (720K)
distribution disks. A hard disk is supported, but is optional.
- Amiga: Commodore Amiga 500 or 2000 with at least 1M of RAM. One 720K
diskette drive is sufficient. A hard disk is not required
(or even supported). To use a hard disk with the Amiga,
someone familiar with how this disk works will have to write
a driver for it. If this driver is then posted to the net,
it will be possible to use a hard disk with MINIX on the Amiga.
5. PARTIAL LIST OF UTILITIES INCLUDED IN MINIX 1.5
animals ar ascii at atrun backup badblocks banner basename bawk btoa cal cat
cdiff cgrep chgrp chip chmem chmod chown clr cmp comm compress cp cpdir
crc cron ctags cut date dd de df dhrystone diff diskcheck dosdir dosread
doswrite du echo ed elle ex expand expr factor fgrep file find fold fortune
fsck gather getlf getty grep gres head ic id ifdef indent inodes kill last
leave ln login look lpr ls m4 machine mail make man mined mkdir mkfs mknod
modem more mount mref mv nm nroff od passwd paste patch pr prep pretty
printenv printroot ps pwd readall readfs recover ref rev rm rmdir roff rz
sed shar size sleep sort spell split strings strip stty su sum sync sz tail
tar tee term termcap test time touch tr traverse treecmp true tset tsort ttt
umount unexpand uniq unshar update users uud uue vi vol wc whatsnew whereis
which who whoami width write
6. PARTIAL LIST OF LIBRARY FUNCTIONS INCLUDED IN MINIX 1.5
abort abs access alarm atoi atol bcmp bcopy chmod chown chroot
ctermid ctime ctype curses cuserid doprintf dup dup2 fgetc fgets fopen
fork fpathconf fprintf fputc fputs fread freopen fseek fstat ftell
fwrite getcwd getdents getegid getenv geteuid getgid getutil gtty index
ioctl isatty kill link lock lrand lsearch lseek malloc memccpy
memchr memcmp memcpy memmove memset message mkdir mkfifo mknod mktemp
nlist open opendir pathconf pause peekpoke perror rand read readdir
regexp regsub rename setbuf setgid setjmp setuid signal sleep sprintf
stat strerror strlen strncat strncmp strncpy strpbrk strrchr strspn
system telldir termcap time times tmpnam ttyname umask umount
7. CONTENTS OF MINIX 1.5 REFERENCE MANUAL
Chap. 1 INTRODUCTION
Chap. 2 INSTALLING MINIX ON THE IBM PC, XT, AT, 386, AND PS/2
Chap. 3 INSTALLING MINIX ON THE ATARI S
Chap. 4 INSTALLING MINIX ON THE COMMODORE AMIGA
Chap. 5 INSTALLING MINIX ON THE APPLE MACINTOSH
Chap. 6 USING MINIX
Chap. 7 RECOMPILING MINIX
Chap. 8 MANUAL PAGES
Chap. 9 EXTENDED MAN PAGES
Chap. 10 SYSTEM CALLS
Chap. 11 NETWORKING
App. A MINIX SOURCE CODE LISTING
App. B CROSS REFERENCE MAP
8. MINIX BOOK
The author of MINIX, Andrew S. Tanenbaum, has written a book describing
how operating systems in general and MINIX in particular work internally.
The book describes an earlier version (and includes a source listing), but
it is still useful for understanding how MINIX works inside, even if some
details are now different. The bibliographic information is:
Title: Operating Systems: Design and Implementation
Author: Andrew S. Tanenbaum
Publisher: Prentice-Hall
ISBN: 0-13-637406-9
Paperback versions are also available in English (outside North America only),
French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. The books can be ordered from any
bookstore.
9. HOW TO ORDER MINIX 1.5
MINIX 1.5 is being sold by Prentice-Hall. The product numbers and prices
are as follows:
- MINIX 1.5 for the IBM: 5 1/4" (0-13-585076-2) $169
- MINIX 1.5 for the IBM: 3 1/2" (0-13-585068-1) $169
- MINIX 1.5 for the Amiga (0-13-585043-6) $169
- MINIX 1.5 for the Atari (0-13-585035-5) $169
- MINIX 1.5 for the Macintosh (0-13-585050-9) $169 (available Oct. 1)
Sales tax and shipping are extra; Prices are slightly higher outside the U.S.
All versions include the executable binaries, a detailed manual, the complete
source code (on diskettes), and an attractively typeset, cross-referenced
listing of the operating system code.
P-H is making a big effort to get software stores to keep MINIX in stock.
The easiest way to order it is to go to a software store and ask them for
it. If they don't stock it, they can always order it. Alternatively, you
can order directly by email, FAX, phone, or mail from Prentice-Hall as follows.
In North America and the Far East
To order by email: books@prenhall.com
To order by FAX: (201) 767-5625
To order by phone: (800) 624-0023 or (201) 767-5969
To order by mail: Microservice Customer Service
Simon & Schuster
200 Old Tappan Road
Old Tappan, NJ 07675
In UK/Europe
To order by email: books@prenhall.com
To order by FAX: +1 (201) 767-5625 (US number)
To order by phone: +44 (442) 231-555 (UK number)
To order by mail: Order Dept.
Prentice-Hall International
66 Wood Lane End
Hemel Hempstead
Herts. HP2 4RG ENGLAND
For email and FAX orders, please include the product name and number, your
name and address, and your MasterCard or VISA card number and expiration date.
If you wish delivery by Federal Express (costs extra), please indicate so.
MINIX can also be ordered from the following addresses:
In England: The MINIX Center
Forncett End
Norwich
Norfolk NR16 1HT England
0953-89345
In Germany: Steve Steinkrauss
Feldtorweg 24
D3406 Bovenden 1
Germany
In the Benelux: Fred van Kempen
Postbus 184
2100 AD Heemstede
Holland
Tel: +31 23 287935
FAX: +31 23 294229
In Scandinavia: Frank O'Donell
P.O. Box 88
1371 Asker
Norway
In Spain and Deborah Worth
Portugal: Appartado Numero 50672
Madrid
Spain
In Italy: Jim Blaho
Piazza Santo Spirito 17
50125 Florence
Italy
In Greece: Vassilis Zahos
Kritonos 5-7
GR 11634 Athens
Greece
In Turkey: Atilla Gullu
Milli Mudafaa Cad 14/7
Kizilay Ankara
Turkey
If you have previously purchased MINIX from Prentice-Hall, you can get
a discount of $60, but only if you order by mail and include the label from
the original PH boot disk (or the entire disk) with your letter. Not valid for
email, phone or FAX orders since you must enclose the original boot disk label
(not a photocopy). Mail orders can be by credit card or check for $169. You
will be billed for tax and shipping.
10. LEGAL STATUS OF MINIX
Although MINIX is supplied with the complete source code, it is
copyrighted software. It is not public domain. It is also not like GNU.
However, the copyright owner, Prentice-Hall has granted permission to bona
fide universities to copy the software for use in courses and in university
research projects. It is also permitted for MINIX owners to change the
software to suit their needs and to distribute diff listings containing
their changes freely. The shrink-wrap license that comes with MINIX states
that you may legally make two backup copies of the software. Prentice-Hall
is being much less strict than other software vendors. Please do not abuse
this. Companies that wish to embed MINIX in commercial systems or sell
MINIX-based products should call (212) 995-7788 to discuss licensing terms.
11. NEWS ABOUT MINIX
Since its introduction in January 1987, there has been a large an
active USENET newsgroup about MINIX, comp.os.minix. It currently has
about 25,000 members. Over 12,000 messages have been posted to this
group so far. These messages have contained questions, bug reports,
bug fixes, new software, and diff listings to allow current users to
update to new releases for free. It is the intention to continue this
policy into the indefinite future. MINIX users on Bitnet can be put on
a mailing list by sending mail to: info-minix-request@udel.edu. Various
archives store newsgroup traffic for newcomers to the newsgroup.
12. FUTURE PLANS
The major current project is bringing MINIX into conformance with
the IEEE POSIX P1003.1 and P1003.2 standards. This will (hopefully)
occur with V2.0, perhaps in 1992. V2.0 will also be provided with an
ANSI C compiler. Various people are currently working on 32-bit versions
of MINIX for the 386, and numerous other projects. To keep up, subscribe
to the comp.os.minix newsgroup.