4 ms·

Central Michigan University

analognoise 11y ago
Are the course notes online? I'm an EE by degree but I've been getting more interested in the programming side of the house and I'm looking for a "teaching os". The other option is the perennial favorite, Minix, but I've realized about computing is that there are a lot of thoughts on how to do things correctly and seeing only one way may make you blind. As an aside, it looks like we've hugged the site to death.
- gh02t 11y ago
  If you want to learn the kernel side, Xv6 is made specifically for a course series at MIT and has a ton of material on how it is designed. It's meant to be super simple for tinkering. http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/6.828/2014/xv6.html http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/6.828/2014/xv6.html If you're really looking for a more complete OS for perusing the source, I'd probably say OpenBSD. They emphasize clean implementation and documentation, which makes it a good learning tool as well. Inferno and the other Plan9 family members maybe aren't the best choices IMO. I haven't done a super deep dive, but my impression is that the communities around them are starved for labor and you might not find things as approachable. There's a lot there to learn of course, but you might have more issues.
  - vezzy-fnord 11y ago
    The communities are niche, but on the other hand Plan 9's internal code style, organization and the liberal use of a few small grand abstractions actually make it easier to study for hobbyists and researchers alike compared to a full modern Unix with all of its intrinsic architectural complexity and real-world cruft (not that OpenBSD isn't one of the best ones in avoiding this).
  - analognoise 11y ago
    Excellent suggestion; thank you! It appears that site is down right now; I'll check for it later.
  - mveety 11y ago
    We (the 9front guys) are generally pretty approachable and cooperative as long as you genuinely want to learn and aren't a complete ass. Starved for labour isn't a bad thing though, less bullshit gets added into the operating system.

Are the course notes online? I'm an EE by degree but I've been getting more interested in the programming side of the house and I'm looking for a "teaching os". The other option is the perennial favorite, Minix, but I've realized about computing is that there are a lot of thoughts on how to do things correctly and seeing only one way may make you blind. As an aside, it looks like we've hugged the site to death.

gh02t 11y ago
If you want to learn the kernel side, Xv6 is made specifically for a course series at MIT and has a ton of material on how it is designed. It's meant to be super simple for tinkering. http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/6.828/2014/xv6.html http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/6.828/2014/xv6.html If you're really looking for a more complete OS for perusing the source, I'd probably say OpenBSD. They emphasize clean implementation and documentation, which makes it a good learning tool as well. Inferno and the other Plan9 family members maybe aren't the best choices IMO. I haven't done a super deep dive, but my impression is that the communities around them are starved for labor and you might not find things as approachable. There's a lot there to learn of course, but you might have more issues.
- vezzy-fnord 11y ago
  The communities are niche, but on the other hand Plan 9's internal code style, organization and the liberal use of a few small grand abstractions actually make it easier to study for hobbyists and researchers alike compared to a full modern Unix with all of its intrinsic architectural complexity and real-world cruft (not that OpenBSD isn't one of the best ones in avoiding this).
- analognoise 11y ago
  Excellent suggestion; thank you! It appears that site is down right now; I'll check for it later.
- mveety 11y ago
  We (the 9front guys) are generally pretty approachable and cooperative as long as you genuinely want to learn and aren't a complete ass. Starved for labour isn't a bad thing though, less bullshit gets added into the operating system.