MCC Interim Linux
Encyclopedia
MCC Interim Linux was a Linux distribution
first released by Owen Le Blanc of the Manchester Computing Centre (MCC), part of the University of Manchester
, England
) in February 1992. MCC Interim Linux has the distinction of being the first Linux distribution capable of being independently installed on a computer.
The MCC first made Linux available by anonymous FTP
in November 1991. Owen Le Blanc's irritations with his early experiments with Linux, such as the lack of a working fdisk
(he would later write one), the need to use multiple FTP repositories to acquire all the essential software, and library version problems, inspired the creation of this distribution.
Le Blanc claimed he referred to the distributions as "interim" because "...they are not intended to be final or official. They are small, harmonious, and moderately tested. They do not conform to everyone's taste -- what release does? -- but they should provide a stable base to which other software can be added."
with a hex editor
.
The first release of MCC Interim Linux was based on version 0.12 of the Linux kernel
and made use of Theodore Ts'o
's ramdisk code to copy a small root image to memory from the previously wasted space of the boot floppy, freeing the floppy drive for additional utilities disks, although the inefficient kernel ramdisk code of the time in practice led to problems on systems with only 2 MB of RAM.
He also stated his distributions were "unofficial experiments", describing the goals of his releases as being:
Indeed, no attempt was ever made to distribute it with a wide range of software or even the X386
windowing system.
, Martin Junius's MJ, Softlanding Linux System
and H J Lu's small base system.
These too being quickly superseded by the oldest surviving distributions - Debian
and Slackware
.
The 1.0 distribution of MCC Interim advised that Debian was "five times the size of MCC, and quite comprehensive", and less ambiguously encouraged its use in his final version, providing transitional support for existing users.
Notably not included was 'man'. An optional pair of disks contained gcc
and g++ 2.1, kermit
and shoelace.
, gzip and man.
and info.
, lp, mail
, progman, timezone and words
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
first released by Owen Le Blanc of the Manchester Computing Centre (MCC), part of the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) in February 1992. MCC Interim Linux has the distinction of being the first Linux distribution capable of being independently installed on a computer.
The MCC first made Linux available by anonymous FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
in November 1991. Owen Le Blanc's irritations with his early experiments with Linux, such as the lack of a working fdisk
Fdisk
On personal computer operating systems, fdisk is a commonly used name for a command-line utility that provides disk partitioning functions...
(he would later write one), the need to use multiple FTP repositories to acquire all the essential software, and library version problems, inspired the creation of this distribution.
Le Blanc claimed he referred to the distributions as "interim" because "...they are not intended to be final or official. They are small, harmonious, and moderately tested. They do not conform to everyone's taste -- what release does? -- but they should provide a stable base to which other software can be added."
History
Prior to its first release, the closest approximation to a Linux distribution had been H J Lu's "Boot-root" floppies. These were two 5¼" diskettes consisting of the kernel and the minimum tools required to get started. So minimal were these tools that to be able to boot from a hard drive required editing its master boot recordMaster boot record
A master boot record is a type of boot sector popularized by the IBM Personal Computer. It consists of a sequence of 512 bytes located at the first sector of a data storage device such as a hard disk...
with a hex editor
Hex editor
A hex editor is a type of computer program that allows a user to manipulate the fundamental binary data that makes up computer files. Note that computer files can be very small to very large...
.
The first release of MCC Interim Linux was based on version 0.12 of the Linux kernel
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
and made use of Theodore Ts'o
Theodore Ts'o
Theodore Y. "Ted" Ts'o is a software developer mainly known for his contributions to the Linux kernel, in particular his contributions to file systems.He graduated in 1990 from MIT with a degree in computer science...
's ramdisk code to copy a small root image to memory from the previously wasted space of the boot floppy, freeing the floppy drive for additional utilities disks, although the inefficient kernel ramdisk code of the time in practice led to problems on systems with only 2 MB of RAM.
He also stated his distributions were "unofficial experiments", describing the goals of his releases as being:
- To provide a simple installation procedure.
- To provide a more complete installation procedure.
- To provide a backup/recovery service.
- To back up his (then) current system.
- To compile, link, and test every binary file under the current versions of the kernel, gcc, and libraries.
- To provide a stable base system, which can be installed in a short time, and to which other software can be added with relatively little effort.
Indeed, no attempt was ever made to distribute it with a wide range of software or even the X386
XFree86
XFree86 is an implementation of the X Window System. It was originally written for Unix-like operating systems on IBM PC compatibles and is now available for many other operating systems and platforms. It is free and open source software under the XFree86 License version 1.1. It is developed by the...
windowing system.
Successors
Soon after the first release came other distributions such as TAMU, created by individuals at Texas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, Martin Junius's MJ, Softlanding Linux System
Softlanding Linux System
Softlanding Linux System was an early Linux distribution founded by Peter MacDonald in May, 1992.SLS was the first release to offer a comprehensive Linux distribution containing more than the Linux kernel and basic utilities, including TCP/IP and the X Window System.- History :SLS was the most...
and H J Lu's small base system.
These too being quickly superseded by the oldest surviving distributions - Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
and Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...
.
The 1.0 distribution of MCC Interim advised that Debian was "five times the size of MCC, and quite comprehensive", and less ambiguously encouraged its use in his final version, providing transitional support for existing users.
Version 0.95c+
As discussed in an email dated 23 April 1992, the boot and utilities disk pair included:- bash
- compress
- elvisElvis (text editor)Elvis is a powerful vi/ex clone, i.e. it resembles the Unix text editor "vi" very much but adds quite a few commands and features. Elvis is written by Steve Kirkendall and is distributed under the Clarified Artistic License which is used by Perl....
- gawk
- The GNU shell/file/text utilities
- grep/egrep/fgrep
- joe
- less
- make
- more
- mtools
- sed
- tar
- uuencode/uudecode
Notably not included was 'man'. An optional pair of disks contained gcc
GNU Compiler Collection
The GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...
and g++ 2.1, kermit
Kermit (protocol)
Kermit is a computer file transfer/management protocol and a set of communications software tools primarily used in the early years of personal computing in the 1980s; it provides a consistent approach to file transfer, terminal emulation, script programming, and character set conversion across...
and shoelace.
Version 0.99.p8
Released on the 14th April 1993. Added to version 0.95c+ were bison, flex, gdb, gprof, groffGroff (software)
Groff is the GNU replacement for the troff and nroff text formatters. It is an original implementation written primarily in C++ by James Clark and is modeled after ditroff, including many extensions. The first version, 0.3.1, was released June 1990. The first stable version, 1.04, was announced in...
, gzip and man.
Version 0.99.p8+
Released on the 26th April 1993. Added to version 0.99.p8 were emacsEmacs
Emacs is a class of text editors, usually characterized by their extensibility. GNU Emacs has over 1,000 commands. It also allows the user to combine these commands into macros to automate work.Development began in the mid-1970s and continues actively...
and info.
Version 1.0+
Added to version 0.99.p8+ were elmElm (e-mail client)
Elm, is a text-based email client commonly found on Unix systems. It became popular as one of the first email clients to use a text user interface, and as a utility with freely-available source code. The name elm originated from the phrase ELectronic Mail.Dave Taylor developed elm while working...
, lp, mail
Mail (Unix)
mail is a command line email client for Unix and Unix-like operating systems.-Example usage:mail -s "You've got mail" -c cc.rider@example.org somebody@example.com anotherbody@example.net...
, progman, timezone and words
External links
- [ftp://ftp.mcc.ac.uk/pub/linux/mcc-interim/ MCC's anonymous FTP site] featuring versions 0.97-p2-12 to 2.0+
- MCC Interim Linux at ibiblioIbiblioibiblio is a "collection of collections," and hosts a diverse range of publicly available information and open source software, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. As an "Internet librarianship," ibiblio is a digital library and archive...
- Manchester Linux User Group's feature on the 15th anniversary of MCC Interim Linux, including image files for use with the QEMUQEMUQEMU is a processor emulator that relies on dynamic binary translation to achieve a reasonable speed while being easy to port on new host CPU architectures....
emulator.