I had this truly odd idea. I don't know how to present it, other than....
There is the source-code for a real-time microkernal unix-like multi-tasking, multi-user operating system, with multiple text and terminal window support--with a scalable graphic primitive system, which could easily fit and run on a Teensy 3.5/3.6. It would likely run with even less RAM, at 128k.
The operating system is old and needs updating, but it has a simply beautiful and efficient design*, which could be adapted to the modern Teensies. It may be one of the most compact forms of Unix.
[Background: OS9 was often used on old VME bus computers, and was later adapted and sold add-on for Tandy's TRS-80 Color Computer 3, which was hindered at that time as to not cross-compete with their PC's.]
AFAIK, a branch of source code as been adapted and updated for Hitachi processors. It is still maintained, after all of these years. The code on the Nitros9 page states that it is under GPLv2. Of course, an additional encumbrance check should be done.
I think it would be interesting to trace the original design and layout of the operating system, perhaps rewriting it in C, so it would be more portable. Obviously, this is not a one-person job.
Because the OS9 was specifically targeted for a particular processor, perhaps, instead the original processors could be hardware abstracted with a few specific memory addresses. Additionally, the old target system had a limitation whereas the operating system needed to interactively map memory blocks into a restrictive 64k block; the Teensy would likely not have this limitation.
Please flip through the technical reference, below, to better study where exactly where I am nuts : )
There's things that have to be changed and updated, but the foundation of possibilities you may find interesting.
*Technical Reference Manual
http://www.colorcomputerarchive.com... Systems/OS-9 Technical Reference (Tandy).pdf
User Manual, and Shell.
http://www.nitros9.org/Getting_Started_With_NitrOS-9.pdf
Source Code
https://sourceforge.net/projects/nitros9/
There is the source-code for a real-time microkernal unix-like multi-tasking, multi-user operating system, with multiple text and terminal window support--with a scalable graphic primitive system, which could easily fit and run on a Teensy 3.5/3.6. It would likely run with even less RAM, at 128k.
The operating system is old and needs updating, but it has a simply beautiful and efficient design*, which could be adapted to the modern Teensies. It may be one of the most compact forms of Unix.
[Background: OS9 was often used on old VME bus computers, and was later adapted and sold add-on for Tandy's TRS-80 Color Computer 3, which was hindered at that time as to not cross-compete with their PC's.]
AFAIK, a branch of source code as been adapted and updated for Hitachi processors. It is still maintained, after all of these years. The code on the Nitros9 page states that it is under GPLv2. Of course, an additional encumbrance check should be done.
I think it would be interesting to trace the original design and layout of the operating system, perhaps rewriting it in C, so it would be more portable. Obviously, this is not a one-person job.
Because the OS9 was specifically targeted for a particular processor, perhaps, instead the original processors could be hardware abstracted with a few specific memory addresses. Additionally, the old target system had a limitation whereas the operating system needed to interactively map memory blocks into a restrictive 64k block; the Teensy would likely not have this limitation.
Please flip through the technical reference, below, to better study where exactly where I am nuts : )
There's things that have to be changed and updated, but the foundation of possibilities you may find interesting.
*Technical Reference Manual
http://www.colorcomputerarchive.com... Systems/OS-9 Technical Reference (Tandy).pdf
User Manual, and Shell.
http://www.nitros9.org/Getting_Started_With_NitrOS-9.pdf
Source Code
https://sourceforge.net/projects/nitros9/
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