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What is the relationship between Minix and Linux?
Short for Minimal UNIX, MINIX is a close cousin of GNU/Linux. To GNU/Linux users, it is simultaneously familiar and foreign, and it challenges orthodox assumptions about how an operating system should be designed. MINIX originally was developed in 1987 by Andrew S.
Is Linux based on Minix?
Relationship with Linux Early Linux kernel development was done on a Minix host system, which led to Linux inheriting various features from Minix, such as the Minix file system.
Why is the Linux kernel so popular?
To a great extent, the Linux kernel owes its success to the GNU project as a whole, which produced the crucial tools, including compilers, a debugger and a BASH shell implementation, that are necessary to build a Unix-like operating system. But GNU developers never created a viable version of the the HURD kernel (although they are still trying ).
What is MINIX for GNU/Linux users?
To GNU/Linux users, it is simultaneously familiar and foreign, and it challenges orthodox assumptions about how an operating system should be designed. MINIX originally was developed in 1987 by Andrew S. Tanenbaum as a teaching tool for his textbook Operating Systems Design and Implementation.
What is Minix used for Today?
Today, MINIX is best known as a footnote in GNU/Linux history. It inspired Linus Torvalds to develop Linux, and some of his early work was written on MINIX. Probably too, Torvalds’ early decision to support the MINIX filesystem is responsible for the Linux kernel’s support of almost every filesystem imaginable.
What are the hardware requirements for using Minix?
MINIX’s hardware requirements (see Resources) should not be a major concern for most users. Requiring 16MB of RAM and a gigabyte of hard drive space, MINIX should install on most computers made in the last decade, even if all peripheral devices are not supported.