diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'microkernel')
-rw-r--r-- | microkernel/mach/gnu_mach.mdwn | 67 | ||||
-rw-r--r-- | microkernel/mach/gnu_mach/building.mdwn | 2 |
2 files changed, 59 insertions, 10 deletions
diff --git a/microkernel/mach/gnu_mach.mdwn b/microkernel/mach/gnu_mach.mdwn index d45549f5..cdb43a6f 100644 --- a/microkernel/mach/gnu_mach.mdwn +++ b/microkernel/mach/gnu_mach.mdwn @@ -1,4 +1,5 @@ -[[meta copyright="Copyright © 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc."]] +[[meta copyright="Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, +Inc."]] [[meta license="""[[toggle id="license" text="GFDL 1.2+"]][[toggleable id="license" text="Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this @@ -8,9 +9,10 @@ Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled [[GNU_Free_Documentation_License|/fdl]]."]]"""]] -GNU Mach is currently used by the GNU [[Hurd]]. +GNU Mach is the microkernel that the [[GNU_Hurd|hurd]] system is based on. -GNU Mach remains compatible with [[Mach]] 3.0. +It is maintained by the Hurd developers for the GNU project and remains +compatible with [[Mach]] 3.0. The majority of GNU Mach's [[device_driver]]s are from Linux 2.0. They were added using glue code, i.e., a Linux [[emulation]] layer in Mach. @@ -20,11 +22,58 @@ GNU Mach runs on x86 machines. See the [[ports]] to other architectures. +# Advantages of GNU Mach + +GNU Mach is not the most advanced [[microkernel]] known to the planet, nor is +it the fastest or smallest, but it has a rich set of [[interface]]s and some +features which make it useful as the base of the [[Hurd]] system. + + * **it's free software** + + Anybody can use, modify, and redistribute it under the terms of the + [[GNU_General_Public_License_(GPL)|gpl]]. + + * **it's built to survive** + + As a [[microkernel]], GNU Mach doesn't implement a lot of the features + commonly found in an operating system, but only the bare minimum that is + required to implement a full operating system on top of it. This means + that a lot of the operating system code is maintained outside of GNU Mach, + and while this code may go through a complete redesign, the code of the + microkernel can remain comparatively stable. + + * **it's scalable** + + Mach is particularly well suited for SMP and network cluster techniques. + Thread support is provided at the kernel level, and the kernel itself takes + advantage of that. Network transparency at the [[IPC]] level makes + resources of the system available across machine boundaries (with NORMA + IPC, currently not available in GNU Mach). + + * **it exists** + + The Mach microkernel is real software that works Right Now. It is not a + research or a proposal. You don't have to wait at all before you can start + using and developing it. Mach has been used in many operating systems in + the past, usually as the base for a single UNIX server. In the GNU system, + Mach is the base of a functional multi-server operating system, the + [[Hurd]]. + + +# Booting + +To actually use the kernel and boot the GNU operating system, you need a boot +loader. Not all boot loaders are capable to boot the GNU system, you need one +that supports the multiboot standard. The bootloader of the GNU system is +[[GNU_GRUB|grub]], which supports a broad range of operating systems including +GNU/Hurd. + + # Development -* [[Building]] -* [[Debugging]] -* [[Boot_Trace]] -* [[Projects]] - * [[Rules]] - * [[Open_Issues]] + * [[Building]] + * [[Debugging]] + * [[Boot_Trace]] + * [[Projects]] + * [[Rules]] + * [[Open_Issues]] diff --git a/microkernel/mach/gnu_mach/building.mdwn b/microkernel/mach/gnu_mach/building.mdwn index 073c68a3..014d3e87 100644 --- a/microkernel/mach/gnu_mach/building.mdwn +++ b/microkernel/mach/gnu_mach/building.mdwn @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ enabled) is around 50 MiB. ### Developers's RCS -See [here](http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/gnumach-download.html#cvs). +See <http://savannah.gnu.org/cvs/?group=hurd>. $ cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.savannah.gnu.org:/sources/hurd co -r gnumach-1-branch gnumach |