Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!sundc!hqda-ai!merlin From: merlin@hqda-ai.UUCP (David S. Hayes) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: Re: Non-Intel Minix? Message-ID: <353@hqda-ai.UUCP> Date: Thu, 7-May-87 10:50:10 EDT Article-I.D.: hqda-ai.353 Posted: Thu May 7 10:50:10 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 9-May-87 04:18:51 EDT References: <132200005@convexs> <5129@beta.UUCP> Organization: Army AI Center, Pentagon Lines: 52 Summary: Public (sort of) C compiler available. Don't need Amsterdam Compiler Kit. In article <5129@beta.UUCP>, hwe@beta.UUCP (Skip Egdorf) writes: > I would love to work on porting minix to both 68K and PDP-11. > The problem is that when I look at my UniPress price list, and > see $10,000 for the Amsterdam Compiler Kit... > I believe that a port will require compiler source. There is no need to use the Amsterdam Compiler Kit. Richard Stallman and Len Tower, of Project GNU (recursive: Gnu's not Unix), have created the GNU C compiler. Briefly, project GNU aims to write a Unix replacement, much like Minix, with the source code freely available. GNU will be much more robust than Minix, since it is intended to be used, not studied. Some pieces of GNU are already available. These include BISON (unix yacc), GNU debugger, and GNU Emacs. This last is the best editor I have ever seen on any computer. The C compiler was announced about a month ago. It is currently considered to be in beta-test, but you can still get it. The Free Software Foundation (the administrative entity that does the distribution work of project GNU) has an archive of GNU sources maintained on the Internet at "prep.ai.mit.edu", address 128.52.14.14. This can be accessed via anonymous ftp. For those who don't have ftp access, you may write to Free Software Foundation 1000 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 Phone: 617-876-3296 GNU is not public domain. The license allows anyone to redistribute as many copies of the software as they want, subject to two basic restrictions: 1) You can't sell it for a profit. 2) You must supply it as you got it, i.e., source code. The quality of the code from GNU is outstanding, and everything is written to be ported to as many different machines as possible. GNU is also subject to frequent updates, enhancements, and bug fixes. Most of these are very minor, and can be safely ignored until the next major release, but it's good to know they're there. The updates are available in the same places the source is. For those interested in following the doings of FSF and Project GNU, have a look in "comp.emacs". They occassionally stuff a note or two in there. -- David S. Hayes, The Merlin of Avalon PhoneNet: (202) 694-6900 UUCP: *!seismo!sundc!hqda-ai!merlin ARPA: merlin%hqda-ai.uucp@brl.arpa