Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hpfcdc!mckee
From: mckee@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Bret McKee)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: PC Minix/64KB limit
Message-ID: <6780001@hpfcdc.HP.COM>
Date: 16 Feb 89 16:54:23 GMT
References: <8752@louie.udel.EDU>
Organization: HP Ft. Collins, Co.
Lines: 31

>Without even mentioning the effort required to write a more complicated
>80x86 C compiler which can support near and far data types, all of Minix
>runs on the implicit assumption all message data is in the data segment.  I
>don't like it, but that's the way it is.
...
>Does anyone have a copy of PC-Minix which uses 32bit pointers within the
>operating system?  I looked at it and felt it would cause distributed
>changes to the whole system -- I never got around to it.  

Once upon a time I had visions of large memory model minix and made all 
the chages to the kernel so that all message pointers were 32 bit virtual
addresses.  After I got that working I ran out of free time and haven't
gotten back to it since.  I was developing under MSC, so the compiler
understood far pointers.  The changes were not overwelming, but it was not
trivial either.  Since I have never done the 1.3 update (no free time, 
remember) I doubt that diffs to my changes would help much.  If anyone
wants to try it under 1.3, I would be willing to offer and advice I can
remember, but since it was about a year ago, my brain is probably pretty
empty...

>marty


---
Bret Mckee

Hewlett Packard 
HP-UX Kernel Group
Phone:(303)229-6116	email: mckee@hpfcls or mckee%hpfcde@hplabs.hp.com

Of course, these are my opinions...