Programming hobbyists love a problem. Getting Linux to run on, properly, something is a problem many discover irresistible. The most recent instance entails getting it to run on the legendary Commodore 64. Getting it to run on a Mac is one factor, however doing the identical on a 40 12 months outdated pc with 64KB of reminiscence is kind of one other.
Developer Onno Kortmann (through Slashdot) used Semu, a lightweight RISCV32 emulator, and cross-compiled it with llvm-mos, permitting the code to run on the C64’s MOS Applied sciences 6502 processor. It must be identified that this was performed through an emulator and never on actual {hardware}, although it is solely a matter of time earlier than that occurs.
Utilizing the VICE Commodore emulator, Kortmann enabled “warp mode” which confirmed the primary boot messages inside a couple of minutes, although that can take for much longer on an actual machine. The screenshot beneath took a couple of hours with Warp mode, which suggests an actual C64 will take every week or extra to completely boot Linux.
The unique Commodore 64 got here with simply 64KB of reminiscence and operating a light-weight OS is just not attainable with out using a RAM Enlargement Unit. Kortmann does not specify which REU he used, however C64 REUs had been accessible with as much as 512KB, or a whopping 0.5MB of reminiscence. The C64’s MOS Expertise processor operating at round 1MHz is not what you’d name a pace demon both.
Kortmann believes there’s a whole lot of room for enchancment, saying a 10x speedup may very well be attainable. Nonetheless, given the restrictions of the C64 {hardware}, even with a 10x speedup, do not count on to go operating a lot in the best way of software program when you do end the boot sequence. That is the sort of factor that serves little function past proving it may be performed. That does not make it any much less cool, although.
Must you want to, the code and directions will be discovered on Kortmann’s Github web page. I am unsure any however probably the most masochistic or bored programmers would take up the problem, however to people who do: Respect!
Is Linux on a C64 sensible? Not within the slightest. However it positive is a formidable feat and one which followers of one of many biggest computer systems of all time will admire.
