MkLinux
Encyclopedia
MkLinux is an open source
computer operating system
started by the OSF
Research Institute and Apple Computer
in February 1996 to port Linux
to the PowerPC
platform, and Macintosh
computers. The effort was spearheaded by Brett Halle at Apple and development split between Michael Burg (device drivers and distribution) at Apple in Cupertino, California, and Nick Stephen (Mach porting & development) at the OSF in Grenoble
, France. Other key individuals to work on the project included François Barbou (OSF), Vicki Brown (Apple) and Gilbert Coville (Apple).
MkLinux was officially announced at The 1996 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). A free CD containing a binary distribution of MkLinux was handed out to the attendees.
In the summer of 1998, the community-led MkLinux Developers Association took over development of the operating system. MkLinux is short for "Microkernel Linux," which refers to the project's adaptation of the Linux kernel
to run as a server hosted atop the Mach
microkernel
. MkLinux is based on version 3.0 of Mach.
and several other Unix
-based technologies, was interested in promoting Mach on other platforms. Unlike the much later Mac OS X
, MkLinux was specifically meant to take full advantage of the Mach microkernel. OS X instead takes the NextStep
approach and runs a hybrid system where the BSD kernel is grafted on top of Mach running in a single kernel address space.
The MkLinux distribution was much too large for casual users to download via POTS
, even using 56k modems. However, the official CDs were available in a book from Prime Time Freeware.
As time went on, and Apple released the Open Firmware
-based Power Macs, an official PowerPC branch of the Linux kernel was created and was spearheaded by the LinuxPPC project. MkLinux and LinuxPPC developers traded a lot of ideas back and forth as both worked on their own ways of running Linux. Debian
also released a traditional monolithic kernel distribution for PowerPC, as did SUSE
, and Terra Soft Solutions with Yellow Dog Linux
.
When Apple dropped support for MkLinux, the developer community struggled to improve the Mach kernel, and support various Power Macintosh hardware. MkLinux continued to be the only option for Macintosh NuBus
computers until June 2000, when PPC/Linux for NuBus Power Macs was released.
project. The work done with the Mach 3.0 kernel was extremely helpful in bringing up NeXTSTEP on the Mac platform, which would later become OS X.
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
computer operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
started by the OSF
Open Software Foundation
The Open Software Foundation was a not-for-profit organization founded in 1988 under the U.S. National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to create an open standard for an implementation of the UNIX operating system.-History:...
Research Institute and Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
in February 1996 to port Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
to the PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
platform, and Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
computers. The effort was spearheaded by Brett Halle at Apple and development split between Michael Burg (device drivers and distribution) at Apple in Cupertino, California, and Nick Stephen (Mach porting & development) at the OSF in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, France. Other key individuals to work on the project included François Barbou (OSF), Vicki Brown (Apple) and Gilbert Coville (Apple).
MkLinux was officially announced at The 1996 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). A free CD containing a binary distribution of MkLinux was handed out to the attendees.
In the summer of 1998, the community-led MkLinux Developers Association took over development of the operating system. MkLinux is short for "Microkernel Linux," which refers to the project's adaptation 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....
to run as a server hosted atop the Mach
Mach (kernel)
Mach is an operating system kernel developed at Carnegie Mellon University to support operating system research, primarily distributed and parallel computation. Although Mach is often mentioned as one of the earliest examples of a microkernel, not all versions of Mach are microkernels...
microkernel
Microkernel
In computer science, a microkernel is the near-minimum amount of software that can provide the mechanisms needed to implement an operating system . These mechanisms include low-level address space management, thread management, and inter-process communication...
. MkLinux is based on version 3.0 of Mach.
History
MkLinux started as a project sponsored by Apple Computer and OSF Research Institute, to get "Linux on Mach" ported to the Macintosh computer and for Apple to explore alternative kernel technologies on the Mac platform. At the time, there was no officially sponsored PowerPC port of Linux, and none specifically for Macintosh hardware. The OSF Institute, owner of the Mach microkernelMicrokernel
In computer science, a microkernel is the near-minimum amount of software that can provide the mechanisms needed to implement an operating system . These mechanisms include low-level address space management, thread management, and inter-process communication...
and several other Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
-based technologies, was interested in promoting Mach on other platforms. Unlike the much later Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, MkLinux was specifically meant to take full advantage of the Mach microkernel. OS X instead takes the NextStep
NEXTSTEP
NeXTSTEP was the object-oriented, multitasking operating system developed by NeXT Computer to run on its range of proprietary workstation computers, such as the NeXTcube...
approach and runs a hybrid system where the BSD kernel is grafted on top of Mach running in a single kernel address space.
The MkLinux distribution was much too large for casual users to download via POTS
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
, even using 56k modems. However, the official CDs were available in a book from Prime Time Freeware.
As time went on, and Apple released the Open Firmware
Open Firmware
Open Firmware, or OpenBoot in Sun Microsystems parlance, is a standard defining the interfaces of a computer firmware system, formerly endorsed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers . It originated at Sun, and has been used by Sun, Apple, IBM, and most other non-x86 PCI chipset...
-based Power Macs, an official PowerPC branch of the Linux kernel was created and was spearheaded by the LinuxPPC project. MkLinux and LinuxPPC developers traded a lot of ideas back and forth as both worked on their own ways of running Linux. 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...
also released a traditional monolithic kernel distribution for PowerPC, as did SUSE
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...
, and Terra Soft Solutions with Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux, also known as YDL, is a free and open source operating system for high performance computing on multicore architectures. It focuses on GPU systems and computers using the Power Architecture . YDL is currently developed by Fixstars...
.
When Apple dropped support for MkLinux, the developer community struggled to improve the Mach kernel, and support various Power Macintosh hardware. MkLinux continued to be the only option for Macintosh NuBus
NuBus
NuBus is a 32-bit parallel computer bus, originally developed at MIT as a part of the NuMachine workstation project. The first complete implementation of the NuBus and the NuMachine was done by Western Digital for their NuMachine, and for the Lisp Machines Inc. LMI-Lambda. The NuBus was later...
computers until June 2000, when PPC/Linux for NuBus Power Macs was released.
Legacy
MkLinux was the first attempt by Apple to support a free and open source softwareFree and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
project. The work done with the Mach 3.0 kernel was extremely helpful in bringing up NeXTSTEP on the Mac platform, which would later become OS X.
Versions
| Version | Approx Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DR1 | May 1996 | Linux 1.3 |
| DR2 | September 1996 | Numerous bug fixes |
| DR2.1 | May 1997 | Linux 2.0; support for PCI machines |
| DR3 | July 1998 | |
| R1 | December 1999 | |
| pre-R2 | August 2002 |