Minix

MINIX is a Unix-like computer operating system based on a microkernel architecture created by Andrew S. Tanenbaum for educational purposes; MINIX also inspired the creation of the Linux kernel.

MINIX (from "mini-Unix") was first released in 1987, with its complete source code made available to universities for study in courses and research. It has been free and open source software since itwas re-licensed under the BSD license in April 2000.Contents
1 Implementation
1.1 MINIX 1.0
1.2 MINIX 1.5
1.3 MINIX 2.0
1.3.1 Minix-vmd
1.4 MINIX 3
2 MINIX and Linux
3 Licensing
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

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Implementation
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MINIX 1.0

Andrew S. Tanenbaum created MINIX at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam to exemplify the principles conveyed in histextbook, Operating Systems: Design and Implementation (1987).

An abridged 12,000 lines of the C source code of the kernel, memory manager, and file system of MINIX 1.0 are printed in the book. Prentice-Hall also released MINIX source code and binaries on floppy disk with a reference manual. MINIX 1 was system-call compatible with Seventh Edition Unix.[1]

Tanenbaum originally developed MINIX forcompatibility with the IBM PC and IBM PC/AT microcomputers available at the time.
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MINIX 1.5

MINIX 1.5, released in 1991, included support for MicroChannel IBM PS/2 systems and was also ported to the Motorola 68000 and SPARC architectures, supporting the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Apple Macintosh and Sun SPARCstation computer platforms. There were also unofficial ports to Intel 386 PCcompatibles (in 32-bit protected mode), National Semiconductor NS32532, ARM and INMOS transputer processors. Meiko Scientific used an early version of MINIX as the basis for the MeikOS operating system for its transputer-based Computing Surface parallel computers. A version of MINIX running as a user process under SunOS and Solaris was also available, a simulator called SMX.[2][3]
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MINIX 2.0Demand for the 68k-based architectures waned, however, and MINIX 2.0, released in 1997, was only available for the x86 and Solaris-hosted SPARC architectures. It was the subject of the second edition of Tanenbaum's textbook, co-written with Albert Woodhull and was distributed on a CD-ROM included with the book. MINIX 2.0 added POSIX.1 compliance, support for 386 and later processors in 32-bitmode and replaced the Amoeba network protocols included in MINIX 1.5 with a TCP/IP stack. Unofficial ports of MINIX 2.0.2 to the 68020-based ISICAD Prisma 700 workstation[4] and the Hitachi SH3-based HP Jornada 680/690 PDA[5] were also developed.
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Minix-vmd
Main article: Minix-vmd

Minix-vmd is a variant of MINIX 2 for Intel IA-32-compatible processors, created by two Vrije Universiteitresearchers, which adds virtual memory and support for the X Window System.
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MINIX 3
Main article: MINIX 3

MINIX 3 was publicly announced on 24 October 2005 by Andrew Tanenbaum during his keynote speech on top of the ACM Symposium Operating Systems Principles conference. Although it still serves as an example for the new edition of Tanenbaum and Woodhull's textbook, it iscomprehensively redesigned to be "usable as a serious system on resource-limited and embedded computers and for applications requiring high reliability."

MINIX 3 currently supports only IA-32 architecture PC compatible systems. It is available in a Live CD format that allows it to be used on a computer without installing it on the hard drive, and in versions compatible with hardware emulation/virtualizationsystems, including Bochs, Qemu, VMware Workstation/Fusion, VirtualBox and Microsoft Virtual PC.

Version 3.1.5 was released 5 November 2009. It contains X11, emacs, vi, cc, gcc, perl, python, ash, bash, zsh, ftp, ssh, telnet, pine, and over 400 other common Unix utility programs. With the addition of X11, this version marks the transition away from a text-only system. It can also withstand...