429 lines
20 KiB
Perl
429 lines
20 KiB
Perl
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Linux: Free Unix Information Sheet
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0.1 Introduction to Linux
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Linux is a completely free clone of the unix operating system
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which is available in both source code and binary form. It is
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copyrighted by Linus B. Torvalds (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi),
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and is freely redistributable under the terms of the Gnu Public
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License. Linux runs only on 386/486 machines with an ISA or EISA
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bus. MCA (IBM's proprietary bus) is not currently supported
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because there is little available documentation. However,
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support for MCA is being added at this time. Porting to other
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architectures is likely to be difficult, as the kernel makes
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extensive use of 386 memory management and task primitives.
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However, despite these difficulties, there are people
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successfully working on a port to the Amiga.
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Linux is still considered to be in beta testing. There are still
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bugs in the system, and since Linux develops rapidly (new
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versions come out about once every two weeks), new bugs creep
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up. However, these bugs are fixed quickly as well. Most versions
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are quite stable, and you can keep using those if they do what
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you need and you don't want to be on the bleeding edge. One site
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has had a computer running version 0.97 patchlevel 1 (dating
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from last summer) for over 136 days without an error or crash.
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(It would have been longer if the backhoe operator hadn't
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mistaken a main power transformer for a dumpster...)
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One thing to be aware of is that Linux is developed using an
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open and distributed model, instead of a closed and centralized
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model like much other software. This means that the current
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development version is always public (with up to a week or two's
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delay) so that anybody can use it. The result is that whenever a
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version with new functionality is released, it almost always
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contains bugs, but it also results in a very rapid development
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so that the bugs are found and corrected quickly, often in
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hours, as many people work to fix them. Furthermore, the bugs
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are generally discovered within hours of a kernel release,
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especially those which might endanger a user's data, so it is
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easy for an end-user to avoid these bugs.
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In contrast, the closed and centralized model means that there
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is only one person or team working on the project, and they only
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release software that they think is working well. Often this
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leads to long intervals between releases, long waiting for bug
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fixes, and slower development. Of course, the latest release of
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such software to the public is often of higher quality, but the
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development speed is generally much slower.
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As of March 17, 1993, the current version of Linux is 0.99
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patchlevel 7.
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0.2 Linux Features
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* multitasking: several programs running at once.
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* multiuser: several users on the same machine at once (and NO
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two-user licenses!).
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* runs in 386 protected mode.
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* has memory protection between processes, so that one program
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can't bring the whole system down.
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* demand loads executables: Linux only reads from disk those
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parts of a program that are actually used.
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* shared copy-on-write pages among executables.
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* virtual memory using paging (not swapping whole processes) to
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disk: to a separate partition or a file in the filesystem, or
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both, with the possibility of adding more swapping areas
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during runtime (yes, they're still called swapping areas). A
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total of 16 of these 16 MB swapping areas can be used at
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once, for a total 256 MB of useable swap space.
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* a unified memory pool for user programs and disk cache (so
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that all free memory can be used for caching, and the cache
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can be reduced when running large programs).
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* dynamically linked shared libraries (DLL's)(static libraries
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too, of course).
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* does core dumps for post-mortem analysis (using a debugger on
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a program after it has crashed).
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* mostly compatible with POSIX, System V, and BSD at the source
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level.
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* all source code is available, including the whole kernel and
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all drivers, the development tools and all user programs;
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also, all of it is freely distributable.
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* POSIX job control.
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* pseudoterminals (pty's).
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* 387-emulation in the kernel so that programs don't need to do
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their own math emulation. Every computer running Linux
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appears to have a math coprocessor.
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* support for many national or customized keyboards, and it is
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fairly easy to add new ones.
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* multiple virtual consoles: several independent login sessions
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through the console, you switch by pressing a hot-key
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combination (not dependent on video hardware).
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* Supports several common filesystems, including minix-1 and
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Xenix, and has an advanced filesystem of its own, which
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offers filesystems of up to 4 TB, and names up to 255
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characters long.
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* transparent access to MS-DOS partitions (or OS/2 FAT
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partitions) via a special filesystem: you don't need any
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special commands to use the MS-DOS partition, it looks just
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like a normal Unix filesystem (except for funny restrictions
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on filenames, permissions, and so on).
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* CD-ROM filesystem which reads all standard formats of
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CD-ROMs.
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* TCP/IP networking, including ftp, telnet, NFS, etc.
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0.3 Hardware Issues
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0.3.1 Minimal configuration
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The following is probably the smallest possible configuration
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that Linux will work on: 386SX/16, 2 MB RAM, 1.44 MB or 1.2 MB
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floppy, any supported video card (+ keyboards, monitors, and so
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on of course). This should allow you to boot and test whether it
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works at all on the machine, but you won't be able to do
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anything useful.
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In order to do something, you will want some hard disk space as
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well, 5 to 10 MB should suffice for a very minimal setup (with
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only the most important commands and perhaps one or two small
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applications installed, like, say, a terminal program). This is
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still very, very limited, and very uncomfortable, as it doesn't
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leave enough room to do just about anything, unless your
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applications are quite limited. It's generally not recommended
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for anything but testing if things work, and of course to be
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able to brag about small resource requirements.
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0.3.2 Usable configuration
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If you are going to run computationally intensive programs, such
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as gcc, X, and TeX, you will probably want a faster processor
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than a 386SX/16, but even that should suffice if you are
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patient.
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In practice, you need at least 4 MB of RAM if you don't use X,
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and 8 MB if you do. Also, if you want to have several users at a
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time, or run several large programs (compilations for example)
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at a time, you may want more than 4 MB of memory. It will still
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work with a smaller amount of memory (should work even with 2
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MB), but it will use virtual memory (using the hard drive as
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slow memory) and that will be so slow as to be unusable.
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The amount of hard disk you need depends on what software you
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want to install. The normal basic set of Unix utilities, shells,
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and administrative programs should be comfortable in less than
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10 MB, with a bit of room to spare for user files. For a more
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complete system, SLS reports that a full base system without X
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fits into 45 MB, with X into 70 MB (this is only binaries), and
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a complete distribution with everything takes 90 MB. Add the
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whatever space you want to reserve for user files to these
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totals.
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Add more memory, more hard disk, a faster processor and other
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stuff depending on your needs, wishes and budget to go beyond
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the merely usable. In general, one big difference from DOS is
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that with Linux, adding memory makes a large difference, whereas
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with dos, extra memory doesn't make that much difference. This
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of course has something to do with DOS's 640KB limit.
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0.3.3 Supported hardware
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CPU: Anything that runs 386 protected mode programs (all models
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of 386s and 486s should work; 286s don't work, and never will).
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Architecture: ISA or EISA bus (you still need an ISA-bus hard
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disk controller, though). MCA (aka PS/2) does not work. Local
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bus works.
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RAM: Theoretically up to 1 GB, but using more than 16 MB
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requires that the kernel be recompiled.
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Data storage: Generic AT drives (IDE, 16 bit HD controllers with
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MFM or RLL) are supported, as are SCSI hard disks and CD-ROMs,
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with a supported SCSI adaptor. Generic XT controllers (8 bit
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controllers with MFM or RLL) need a special driver which is not
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currently part of the standard kernel. Supported SCSI adaptors:
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Adaptec 1542 (but not 1522), 1740 in extended (not 1542
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compatible) mode, Seagate ST-01 and ST-02, Future Domain TMC-88x
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series (or any board based on the TMC950 chip) and TMC1660/1680,
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Ultrastor 14F, and Western Digital wd7000. SCSI and QIC-02 tapes
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are also supported.
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Video: VGA, EGA, CGA, or Hercules (and compatibles) work in text
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mode. For graphics and X, there is support for (at least) EGA,
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normal VGA, some super-VGA cards (most of the cards based on
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ET3000, ET4000, Paradise, and some Trident chipsets), some S3
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cards (not Diamond Stealth, because the manufacturer won't tell
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how to program it), 8514/A, and hercules. (Linux uses the
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Xfree86 X server, so that determines what cards are supported.)
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Other hardware: SoundBlaster, AST Fourport cards (with 4 serial
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boards), several flavours of bus mice (Microsoft, Logitech,
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PS/2).
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0.4 An Incomplete List of Ported Programs and Other Software
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Most of the common Unix tools and programs have been ported to
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Linux, including almost all of the GNU stuff and many X clients
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from various sources. Actually, ported is often too strong a
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word, since many programs compile out of the box without
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modifications, or only small modifications, because Linux tracks
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POSIX quite closely. Unfortunately, there are not very many
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end-user applications at this time. Nevertheless, here is an
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incomplete list of software that is known to work under Linux.
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Basic Unix commands: ls, tr, sed, awk and so on (you name it,
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we've probably got it).
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Development tools: gcc, gdb, make, bison, flex, perl, rcs, cvs,
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gprof.
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Graphical environments: X11R5 (Xfree86), MGR.
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Editors: GNU Emacs, Lucid Emacs, MicroEmacs, jove, epoch, elvis,
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joe, pico.
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Shells: Bash, zsh (include ksh compatiblity mode), tcsh, csh,
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rc, ash.
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Telecommunication: Taylor (BNU-compatible) UUCP, kermit, szrz,
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minicom, pcomm, xcomm, term/slap (runs multiple shells over one
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modem line), and Seyon.
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News and mail: C-news, trn, nn, tin, smail, elm, mh.
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Textprocessing: TeX, groff, doc.
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Games: Nethack, several Muds and X games.
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All of these programs (and this isn't even a hundredth of what
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is available) are freely available.
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0.5 Getting Linux
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0.5.4 Anonymous FTP
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At least the following anonymous ftp sites carry Linux. This
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list is taken from the Meta-FAQ list, which is posted every week
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to the comp.os.linux newsgroup (the Meta-FAQ is updated more
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often than this information sheet, so the list below may not be
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the most current one).
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Textual name Numeric address Linux directory
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============================= =============== ===============
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tsx-11.mit.edu 18.172.1.2 /pub/linux
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sunsite.unc.edu 152.2.22.81 /pub/Linux
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nic.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 /pub/OS/Linux
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ftp.mcc.ac.uk 130.88.203.12 /pub/linux
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fgb1.fgb.mw.tu-muenchen.de 129.187.200.1 /pub/linux
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ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de 131.159.0.110 /pub/Linux
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ftp.dfv.rwth-aachen.de 137.226.4.105 /pub/linux
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ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de 137.226.112.172 /pub/Linux
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ftp.ibp.fr 132.227.60.2 /pub/linux
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kirk.bu.oz.au 131.244.1.1 /pub/OS/Linux
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ftp.uu.net 137.39.1.9 /systems/unix/linux
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wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 mirrors/linux
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ftp.win.tue.nl 131.155.70.100 /pub/linux
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ftp.stack.urc.tue.nl 131.155.2.71 /pub/linux
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srawgw.sra.co.jp /Linux
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ftp.ibr.cs.tu-bs.de 134.169.34.15 /pub/os/linux
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cair.kaist.ac.kr /pub/Linux
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ftp.denet.dk 129.142.6.74 /pub/OS/linux
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tsx-11.mit.edu and fgb1.fgb.mw.tu-muenchen.de are the official
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sites for Linux' GCC. Some sites mirror other sites. Please use
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the site closest (network-wise) to you whenever possible.
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0.5.5 Other methods of obtaining Linux
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There are many BBS's that have Linux files. A list of them is
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maintained by Zane Healy; he posts it to the comp.os.linux
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newsgroup around the beginning and middle of the month, please
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see that post for more information. comp.os.linux is echoed on
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the LINUX echoid on fidonet. This list is available as
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tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/docs/bbs.list, and is mirrored on fine
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mirrors everywhere.
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There is also at least one organization that distributes Linux
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on floppies, for a fee. Contact
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Softlanding Software
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910 Lodge Ave.
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Victoria, B.C., Canada
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V8X-3A8
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+1 604 360 0188
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FAX: 604 385 1292
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for information on purchasing. There is also an organization
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which sells Linux on CD-ROM --- contact
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Yggdrasil Computing, Incorporated
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CDROM sales
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PO Box 8418
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94707--8418
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510--526--7531
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for information on purchasing the CD-ROM. Also, don't forget
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about friends and user's groups, who are usually glad to let you
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make a copy.
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0.5.6 Getting started
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As mentioned at the beginning, Linux is not centrally
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administered. Because of this, there is no ``official'' release
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that one could point at, and say ``That's Linux.'' Instead,
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there are various ``distributions,'' which are more or less
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complete collections of software configured and packaged so that
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they can be used to install a Linux system. The most important
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one is currently the SLS release.
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SLS is put together by Peter MacDonald, and is the more
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full-featured one. It contains much of the available software,
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and includes X. I really recommend SLS to anyone who's serious
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about getting started with Linux.
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The first thing you should do is to get and read the list of
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) from one of the FTP sites, or
|
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|
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by using the normal Usenet FAQ archives (e.g.
|
||
|
|
pit-manager.mit.edu). This document has plenty of instructions
|
||
|
|
on what to do to get started, what files you need, and how to
|
||
|
|
solve most of the common problems (during installation or
|
||
|
|
otherwise).
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
0.6 Legal Status of Linux
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Although Linux is supplied with the complete source code, it is
|
||
|
|
copyrighted software, not public domain. However, it is
|
||
|
|
available for free under the GNU Public License. See the GPL for
|
||
|
|
more information. The programs that run under Linux have each
|
||
|
|
their own copyright, although much of it uses the GPL as well.
|
||
|
|
All of the software on the FTP site is freely distributable (or
|
||
|
|
else it shouldn't be there).
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
0.7 News About Linux
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
There is a Usenet newsgroup, comp.os.linux, for Linux
|
||
|
|
discussion, and also several mailing lists. See the Linux FAQ
|
||
|
|
for more information about the mailing lists (you should be able
|
||
|
|
to find the FAQ either in the newsgroup or on the FTP sites).
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The newsgroup comp.os.linux.announce is a moderated newsgroup
|
||
|
|
for announcements about Linux (new programs, bug fixes, etc).
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
For the current status of the Linux kernel and a summary of the
|
||
|
|
most recent versions, finger torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
There is also a more or less weekly ``newsletter,'' Linux News,
|
||
|
|
which summarizes the most important announcements and uploads,
|
||
|
|
and has occasional other articles as well. Look in
|
||
|
|
comp.os.linux.announce for a sample issue.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
0.8 Future Plans
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Work is underway on Linux version 1.0, which will close some of
|
||
|
|
the gaps in the present implementation. The major functionality
|
||
|
|
shortcomings are advanced interprocess communication
|
||
|
|
(semaphores, shared memory), closer compatibility with POSIX,
|
||
|
|
and a lot of tweaking. Documentation is also sorely missing, but
|
||
|
|
is being worked on by those on the ``Linux Documentation
|
||
|
|
Project'' (the DOC channel of the linux-activists@niksula.hut.fi
|
||
|
|
mailing list). By April 1993 there should be a complete
|
||
|
|
installation and getting started manual for Linux.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
0.9 This document
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
This document is maintained by Michael K. Johnson,
|
||
|
|
johnsonm@stolaf.edu. Please mail me with any comments, no matter
|
||
|
|
how small. I can't do a good job of maintaining this document
|
||
|
|
without your help. A current copy of this document can always be
|
||
|
|
found as tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux/docs/INFO-SHEET, and a .dvi
|
||
|
|
version can be found as INFO-SHEET.dvi, in the same directory.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
0.10 Legalese
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Trademarks are owned by their owners. There is no warranty about
|
||
|
|
the information in this document. Use and distribute at your own
|
||
|
|
risk. The content of this document is in the public domain, but
|
||
|
|
please be polite and attribute any quotes.
|
||
|
|
|