www:documentation:features [Wiki]

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
Here are some of the more interesting features of MINIX 3.

===== General Characteristics =====

  * POSIX-compliant operating system with a NetBSD userland
  * Open source, with a BSD license
  * Runs on x86 PCs and well as x86 virtual machines (VMware, etc.)
  * Runs on ARM Cortex A8 (e.g., BeagleBoard XM, Beaglebones)
  * Networking with TCP/IP
  * Virtual memory
  * Virtual file system
  * Unified block cache shared by virtual memory and file systems
  * Dynamic linking
  * Small memory footprint (kernel is 600 kB; full OS is 25 MB)

===== MINIX-specific Features =====

  * Tiny microkernel that runs in kernel mode
  * Most of the operating system runs in user-mode protected processes
  * Each device driver is a separate user-mode process
  * Reincarnation server can reload failed drivers

===== Reliability Features =====

  * Reduced kernel size
  * Bugs are caged
  * Drivers' memory access is limited
  * Bad pointer references are not always fatal
  * Infinite loops are not always fatal
  * Buffer overruns are not always fatal
  * Access to kernel function calls is restricted
  * Access to I/O ports is restricted
  * Communication with OS components is restricted
  * Dead or sick drivers can be reincarnated
  * Interrupts and messages are integrated
  * [[.:reliability|Click here]] for more details

===== Languages and Compilers =====

  * Languages: C, C++, clisp, mawk, Perl, Python, tcl, etc.
  * Compilers: gcc and clang/LLVM
  * Native compilation (self hosting) on x86
  * Cross compilation for x86 and ARM

===== Packages =====

  * Shells (e.g., bash, mksh, mudsh, pdksh, zsh)
  * Editors (e.g., elvis, joe, jove, pico, uemacs, vim)
  * Games (e.g., crafty, exchess, ioquake)
  * Mail (e.g., fetchmail, getmail, mutt, thunderbird)
  * Over 4000 other NetBSD packages
User Tools

Site Tools

Page Tools
