Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!menudo.uh.edu!sugar!peter
From: peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: 8-bit death
Message-ID: <1991May2.105802.26053@sugar.hackercorp.com>
Organization: Sugar Land Unix -- Houston, TX
References: <1991May1.070516.3257@kessner.denver.co.us> <1991May1.120729.13618@sugar.hackercorp.com> <1991May2.013735.6365@kessner.denver.co.us>
Date: Thu, 2 May 1991 10:58:02 GMT

In article <1991May2.013735.6365@kessner.denver.co.us> david@kessner.denver.co.us (David Kessner) writes:
> By your definition, I could write a 16 bit OS for the 6502.

Yes, you could. In fact Apple was doing that very thing on the Apple ///, when
they decided to dump it. Using banking a 6502 can address just as much memory
as an 8088, in 16K (12K on the ][) chunks instead of 64K ones.

> Nothing you mentioned is dependant on the magic 8 or 16 bit numbers.

What's magic. I'm talking about memory limitations. The IBM-PC originally
shipped with the same 64K CP/M ran under.

> The things that you mention are more dependant on MMU's rather than anything
> else-- like the 'number of bits'.

It's, like all other distinctions, a tag. There are commonalities among 8-bit
CPUs, 16-bit ones, and 32-bit ones.

> >But I *do* equate Ultrix with UNIX. In fact, anything that provides the basic
> >35 system calls from V7 days is UNIX.

> Ultrix (on the PDP-11) was in many respects a 16 bit operating system.

Ultrix ran on the VAX. Were you thinking of Version 7 UNIX? Swapping UNIX
systems are indeed 16-bit. Not surprising... the PDP-11 is a 16-bit machine.

But Ultrix is DEC's name for their VAX UNIX. They never shipped a UNIX for
the PDP-11.  Why don't you check your facts and try again?

> While it is somewhat UNIX like-- it is sufficently different from what most
> folks think of UNIX (like System Vr4) that it _MUST_ be thought of on it's
> own accord.

MUST be. I see. because some marketing bozo at AT&T had a bright idea one day
earlier versions of the O/S, even from AT&T, are different.
-- 
Peter da Silva.   `-_-'
<peter@sugar.hackercorp.com>.
