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From: jca@pnet01.cts.com (John C. Archambeau)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: PC Minix Memory Models (Was (none))
Message-ID: <3127@crash.cts.com>
Date: 13 Jun 90 00:56:04 GMT
Sender: root@crash.cts.com
Organization: People-Net [pnet01], El Cajon CA
Lines: 37

dpi@loft386.uucp (Doug Ingraham) writes:
>What bothers people most about the 64K I & 64K D space limitation?  Is
>it the 64K Instruction or the 64K Data?  If it is the instruction limit
>that is less of a problem.  We could implement a form of Shared Library
>where all the library routines that are used by the Kernel+MM+FS and any
>other routines used by the vast majority of the commands would be in its
>own 64k space.  I call this a Global Shared Library.  If it is the 64K
>Data as I suspect then there is no good easy solution.

It's the fact that a lot of what I use will not function in that type of
memory model.  XBBS, Elm, etc. won't work in the small memory model.  Even GCC
won't work...which is obvious after Bruce Evans statement on the chmem
requirements of GCC on his 32-bit kernel.  That and GCC can't generate code
that the 8086 or 80286 understands with respect to breaking things up into
segments.  Try and compile X11R4, that won't compile either and the complete
source is about 60 or so Mb.  What a lot of us who are bothered by the memory
model problem want is either a large model 86/286 Unix (ala MicroPort SysV/AT)
or a 386 System V/R3.

There are people who agree with me on this issue and I will be one of the
first to admit that there's no easy way to deal with the problem at hand on a
80x86 (x < 3), but it has been done.  That's my peeve against MWC and Coherent
and my peeve against Minix until I try out the 32-bit kernel which may be very
shortly if I get a bigger hard drive.

Minix ST cuts it just fine, but PC...bah...
 
     // JCA

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