"Linux ported to non MMU system"

[gamberin@art.alcatel.fr (Fabrice Gamberini)]

Straight from comp.os.linux.announce:

" Announcing The Linux/Microcontroller Project.

 Description:
 Linux has been ported to 68000 processors _without_ Memory Management
 Units.  This is the first port of Linux that does not require an MMU.
 The first platform supported is the 3Com PalmPilot or IBM Workpad with
 a TRG SuperPilot memory card.  Next to be supported will be the Motorola
 MC68332 microcontroller, expected in the next few weeks.

 Why:
 Linux for embedded systems is a great idea.

 Who and when:
 Part of The Silver Hammer Group Ltd's programming team.  Kenneth
 Albanowski and D. Jeff Dionne produced a booting Linux kernel for the
 PalmPilot during the week of Jan26 1998.  Due to the structure of the
 linux memory management code, the port to a flat contiguous vs. paged
 virtual memory system went very smoothly.

 Status:
 The kernel boots on a plain old 68000 CPU, TCP/IP and all, mounts a
 ROMFS root filesystem and runs a special hand crafted /etc/init in user
 space as well as a handful of kernel threads happily printing 
 AAAAAABBBBBBBAAAAAABBBBB :-)

 We are still working on libc, and the compiler support is still in flux.  If
 you are interested in Linux on small or embedded machines, visit the uClinux
 home page at http://ryeham.ee.ryerson.ca/uClinux  We even have a nifty
 screen shot of Linux running on the PalmPilot simulator XCoPilot.  Stop
 by and lend a hand.

 Contacting us:
 We can be contacted about the Linux/Microcontroller project at
 uclinux@ryeham.ee.ryerson.ca

 D. Jeff Dionne
 Kenneth Albanowski


"
Now what would prevent someone (?) from taking this port and mixing with the
appropiate drivers from the m68k linux to release something for ordinary STs...

Wouldn't that be grand ? though probably on the verge of the unusable with less than
4 megs of of RAM. On the other Hand, no need to "port"/translate  linux apps
(non-X i mean) : just make config; make; make install. And a standard (ie "proven)
tcp/ip stack to work with (with ip-masquerading perhaps)...provided that the
non-MMU limitations aren't too hard (like all progs in the same user space).

ok ok, for the moment it seems just bare (no compiler for instance, but we know
gcc works alright) but i don't see how a palm pilot (based on a 68k-core 
dragonball microcontroller) could be more efficient than a good old ST...

bye

F.Gamberini