Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!botter!star.cs.vu.nl!ast@cs.vu.nl
From: ast@cs.vu.nl
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: POSIX and the future of MINIX
Message-ID: <3044@ast.cs.vu.nl>
Date: 23 Aug 89 19:08:57 GMT
Sender: ast@cs.vu.nl
Reply-To: ast@cs.vu.nl ()
Organization: VU Informatica, Amsterdam
Lines: 59

Sometime around Sept./Oct. I will post the diffs for V1.4b, Bruce Evans'
improved protected mode kernel plus lots of changes to utilities and
libraries that I have accumulated.  After that I start on V2.0, a POSIX
compatible version (sort of).

Thus there will no doubt be lots of discussion about POSIX in the coming
months.  This message is to get you started.  POSIX (pronounced pahz icks,
not poe six), is an IEEE project standardizing UNIX.  The idea is that a
conforming POSIX application can be recompiled on any conforming POSIX
system and work.  With some luck, MINIX V2.0 will be close enough to a
conforming system that conforming applications should compile and run
on MINIX too (if they fit in 64K + 64K).  There is one annoying problem
that I see, but let me keep you in suspense for the time being.

POSIX consists of a set of related standards:
  P1003.1 - system calls
  P1003.2 - shell and utilities
  P1003.3 - verification
  P1003.4 - realtime extensions
  P1003.5 - Ada language bindings
  P1003.6 - Security
  P1003.x - Other topics

It would be nice if MINIX conformed to P1003.1 and P1003.2.  I will do the
conversion of the system calls.  I doubt that I will have time to do the
shell and utilities (P1003.2), but all help is welcome.  Addition of ANSI C
libraries is also welcome.

The reason for my posting this now is that in order to participate in the
subsequent discussions in an intelligent way, you will have to have the
standards at hand.  P1003.1 is now final and has been published by IEEE.
It can be ordered from:

   Publication Sales
   IEEE Service Center
   P.O. Box 1331
   445 Hoes Lane
   Piscataway NJ 08854-1331
   Telephone: (201) 981-0060

They take credit card orders over the phone.  The P1003.1 standard costs $20
for IEEE members (have your member number handy) and $36 for nonmembers.

The P1003.2 and P1003.3 standards have not been approved yet.  You can order
the draft standards from the IEEE Standards office at (201) 562 3800.
They cost $40.80 and $23.20, respectively.

I have now read P1003.1 quite carefully.  It is a highly readable document,
unlike the ISO OSI standards, which, I studied in minute detail and found
totally incomprehensible, even after 4 or 5 readings.  Furthermore the
P1003.1 standard has an appendix which explains why they did what they did.
All in all, if you are interested in the future of MINIX of the future of
UNIX, I highly recommend ordering and reading P1003.1.  I just ordered
the P1003.2 and P1003.3 draft standards myself, so I don't know how good they
are.  Virtually every computer manufacturer is committed to supporting
POSIX, so in a few years, many of the headaches caused by 4.3/System V will be
gone: POSIX-conformant applications will run on any UNIX system.

Andy Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl)