Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset: Difference between revisions

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The '''Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset (ELKS)''', formerly known as ''Linux-8086'', is a [[Unix-like]] operating system [[kernel (computer science)|kernel]] that can run on [[Intel 8086]]-compatible [[microprocessor]]s. ELKS, formerly known as ''Linux-8086'',It is a small subset of the [[Linux (kernel)|Linux kernel]], andintended canfor run''[[16-bit]]'' on machinescomputers with limited processor and memory resources, includingsuch as machines withpowered by [[16-bitIntel 8086]] microprocessorsand thatcompatible are[[microprocessor]]s not supported by ''[[32-bit]]'' [[Linux]].
 
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ELKS is [[free software]] and is available under the [[GNU General Public License]] (GPL).
==Features and compatibility==
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ELKS is [[free software]] and available under the [[GNU General Public License]] (GPL). It can work with early 16-bit x86 (8086, 80186 and 80286) computers like [[IBM PC compatible]] systems, and in [[virtual 8086 mode]], a feature of the 32-bit [[Intel 80386]] and later CPUs found in newer machines. Another useful area are single board microcomputers, intended as educational tools for "[[wikt:homebrew|homebrew]]" projects (hardware [[Hacker (hobbyist)|hacking]]), as well as embedded controller systems (e.g. [[Automation]]).<ref name="Intro">[http://elks.sourceforge.net/introduction.html Introduction to ELKS]</ref>
 
ELKS also runs on [[Psion Series 3#Psion Series 3a|''Psion 3a'']] and ''3aR'' [[EPOC (operating system)#EPOC16|''SIBO'']] (SIxteen Bit Organiser) [[Personal Digital Assistant|PDA]]s with NEC [[NEC_V20#Variants_and_successors|V30]] CPUs<ref name="Intro">[http://elks.sourceforge.net/introduction.html Introduction to ELKS]</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20011021222654/http://www.elks.ecs.soton.ac.uk/sibo.php3 Information on SIBO] (archived)</ref>, providing another possible field of operation ([[gadget]] hardware), if ported to such a platform. This effort was called ''ELKSibo''.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050327202617/http://www.mungewell.ndirect.co.uk/linux/ Information on ELKSibo] (archived)</ref>
 
Native ELKS programs may run [[Emulator|emulated]] with ''Elksemu'', allowing 8086 code to be used under Linux-i386.<ref>[http://linux.die.net/man/1/elksemu Elksemu man page]</ref> An effort to provide ELKS with an [[Eiffel (programming language)|Eiffel]] compliant [[Library (computing)|library]] exists, too.<ref>[http://sourceforge.net/projects/freeelks/ Implementation of ELKS Eiffel library]</ref>
 
==History==
Development of ''Linux-8086'' started in 1995 by Linux kernel developers [[Alan Cox]] and Chad Page as a [[fork (software development)|fork]] of the standard Linux. By early 1996 the project was renamed ''ELKS'' (Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset), and in 1997 the first website ''www.elks.ecs.soton.ac.uk/'' (offline, [http://web.archive.org/web/20010924210617/http://www.elks.ecs.soton.ac.uk/ archived here]) was created. ELKS version 0.0.63 followed on August 8 that same year. On June 22, 1999, ELKS release 0.0.77 was available, the first version able to run a [[graphical user interface]] (the [http://www.microwindows.org/ Nano-X Window System]). On July 21, ELKS booted on a [[Psion PLC|Psion]] PDA with SIBO architecture. ELKS 0.0.82 came out on January 10, 2000. By including the SIBO [[Porting|port]], it became the first official version running on other computer [[hardware]] than the original 8086 base. On March 3 that year, the project was registered on [[SourceForge]], the new website being ''elks.sourceforge.net/''.
{{Prose|date=September 2008}}
 
* 1995 - Development of Linux-8086 by Linux kernel developers [[Alan Cox]] and Chad Page starts as a [[fork (software development)|fork]] of the standard Linux.
On January 6, 2001, Cox declared ELKS "basically dead".<ref>January 6, 2001, [http://web.archive.org/web/20010920200533/http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=56220 status update] by Alan Cox (archived)</ref> Nonetheless, release 0.0.84 came along on June 17, 2001, Charilaos (Harry) Kalogirou added TCP/IP networking support seven days later, and in the same year ELKS reached 0.0.90 on November 17. On April 20, 2002, Kalogirou added virtual memory support with disk swapping capability, followed nine days later by ELKS release 0.1.0, considered the first ''[[Development stage#Beta|beta version]]''.<ref name="Rel_Info_old">[http://sourceforge.net/p/elks/news/ Older release information, e.g. on ELKS 0.1.0, the first Beta]</ref> By end of the year, on December 18, the ''EDE'' (Elks Distribution Edition, a distribution based on the ELKS kernel), itself version 0.0.5, is released.<ref>[http://lwn.net/Articles/18400/ Announce of the EDE 0.0.5 release]</ref> January 6, 2003, brought ELKS 0.1.2, an update to 0.1.3 followed on May 3, 2006, the first official release after a long hiatus in development.<ref name="Rel_Info_old">[http://sourceforge.net/p/elks/news/]</ref>
* Early 1996 - The project is renamed ELKS, Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset.
 
* 1997 - The first website http://www.elks.ecs.soton.ac.uk/ (now offline, [http://web.archive.org/web/20020119145412/elks.sourceforge.net/ archived version]) is created.
ELKSA runs on [[IBM PC compatible]] systems and on [[Psion PLC|Psion]] SIBO PDAs. It was planned to be developeddevelopment into the [[''FlightLinux]]'', a [[Real-time computing|real-time]] operating system for [[spacecraft]]s, once was planned, but the project it was intended for ([[UoSAT-12]]) eventually settled on the ''qCF'' operating system from Quadron Corporation instead.<ref>[http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-8086/msg00264.html Linux-8086: Flight Linux]</ref>
* August 8, 1997 - ELKS 0.0.63 is released.
* June 22, 1999 - ELKS 0.0.77 is released. This version is the first that is able to run a [[graphical user interface]] (the [http://www.microwindows.org/ Nano-X Window System]).
* July 21, 1999 - ELKS boots on a [[Psion 3#Psion 3a and Psion 3aR|Psion 3a]] [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]] ([[EPOC (computing)#EPOC16|SIBO]] architecture).
* January 10, 2000 - ELKS 0.0.82 is released, the first official version which includes the SIBO [[Porting|port]].
* March 3, 2000 - The [http://sourceforge.net/projects/elks/ ELKS project] is registered on [[SourceForge]], the new website is http://elks.sourceforge.net/.<ref>[http://sourceforge.net/projects/elks/ SourceForge ELKS project page]</ref>
* January 6, 2001 - Alan Cox declares the project "basically dead".<ref>January 6, 2001 [http://web.archive.org/web/20010920200533/http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=56220 project status update] from Alan Cox (archived)</ref>
* June 17, 2001 - ELKS 0.0.84 is released.
* June 24, 2001 - Charilaos Kalogirou adds TCP/IP networking support.
* November 17, 2001 - ELKS 0.0.90 is released
* April 20, 2002 - Charilaos Kalogirou adds virtual memory support with disk swapping capability.
* April 29, 2002 - ELKS 0.1.0 is released, this is the first [[Development stage#Beta|beta version]].<ref>[http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=3232&package_id=3148&release_id=87385 ELKS 0.1.0, the first beta version]</ref>
* December 18, 2002 - EDE (the Elks Distribution Edition, a distribution based on the ELKS kernel) version 0.0.5 is released.<ref>[http://lwn.net/Articles/18400/ Announce of the EDE 0.0.5 release]</ref>
* January 6, 2003 - ELKS 0.1.2 is released.<ref name="officialsite">[http://elks.sourceforge.net/ Official ELKS website]</ref>
* May 3, 2006 - ELKS 0.1.3 is released, the first official release after a long hiatus in development.<ref>[http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=3232&package_id=3148&release_id=414456 ELKS 0.1.3, currently the last released version]</ref>
* February 19, 2012 - ELKS 0.1.4 is released, this version fixes compilation BUGs of version 0.1.3 and remove unused codes. This version is in memory of Riley Williams.<ref>[http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-8086/msg00404.html ELKS release 0.1.4]</ref>
More than 30 developers have contributed to this project since the Linux fork.
 
==Current status and usage==
As ofSince January 2012, ELKS is again under sporadic development. The CVS repository was migrated to [[Git (software)|Git]] in February 2012, and numerous patches from the Linux-8086 mailing list were committed to the ELKS Gitnew repository. TheVersion latest0.1.4 came out on February 19, 2012, released by Jody Bruchon in memory of Riley Williams, a former co-developer. It included updated floppy disk images, fixing compilation bugs of the previous version isand removing unused codes.<ref>[http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-8086/msg00404.html ELKS release 0.1.4]<ref name="officialsite"/ref> whichOn includesMay updated10, floppy2012, disk''BusyELKS'' imageswas added to the repository by Bruchon to replace stand-alone binaries. [[BusyBox]]-like binaries attempt to save space with symbolic links, eliminating redundant chunks of code, and theare latestcombining EDEseparate versionprograms into one bigger binary.<ref>[http://github.com/jbruchon/elks/tree/master/busyelks BusyELKS introduction]</ref> The current release is ELKS 0.01.5b5 of August 11, 2012.<ref>[http://sourceforge.net/projectprojects/showfileselks/files/ELKS/ ELKS release 0.php?group_id=3232&package_id=687481.5 EDEon SourceForge]</ref> On November 14, 2013, the project development settled down at [[GitHub]], ''github.com/jbruchon/elks/'' becoming the new official home.<ref>[http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-8086/msg00500.html Info on ELKS' downloadGitHub pagemove]</ref>
 
The current EDE version is 0.0.5b.<ref>[http://sourceforge.net/projects/elks/files/ELKS%20Distribution%20Edition%20%28old%29/ EDE SourceForge download page]</ref> More than 30 developers have contributed to this project since the fork in 1995.
ELKS runs on [[IBM PC compatible]] systems and on [[Psion PLC|Psion]] SIBO PDAs. It was planned to be developed into the [[FlightLinux]] [[Real-time computing|real-time]] operating system for [[spacecraft]]s, but the project it was intended for ([[UoSAT-12]]) eventually settled on the qCF operating system from Quadron Corporation instead.<ref>[http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-8086/msg00264.html Linux-8086: Flight Linux]</ref>
 
==See also==
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==External links==
* [http://elksgithub.sourceforge.netcom/jbruchon/elks Official ELKS websitepage on GitHub]
* [http://elks.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=elks/elks gitOld ELKS SourceForge treewebsite]
* [http://homepageelks.ntlworldgit.comsourceforge.net/robertgit/gitweb.debathcgi?p=elks/elks ELKS developmentGit tree on toolsSourceForge]
* [http://github.com/lkundrak/dev86 Official ELKS development tools page on GitHub]
* [ftp://ftp.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pub/elks/ FTP site with old ELKS source files]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20120121044117/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robert.debath/ Old ELKS development tools], archived for information
* [http://github.com/lkundrak/dev86/tree/master/elksemu Elksemu, part of development tools, on GitHub]
* [ftp://ftp.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pub/elks/ FTP site with old ELKS source files (''dead link'')]
 
[[Category:Linux kernel]]