www:documentation:improvements [Wiki]

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MINIX 3 has many improvements over MINIX 2, too many to list. We will just list a few of them here.

===== New Features =====

  * Installation (based on a live CD) is much simpler
  * X Window System
  * Memory sizes up to 4 GB are supported
  * Disk blocks can be 1-, 2-, 4-, or 8-KB
  * The select system call has been added
  * Many new programs including gcc, g++, emacs, nvi, vim, bison, python, perl, GNU utilities
  * An information server has been added for debugging and other purposes
  * A reincarnation server automatically kills and replaces faulty device drivers on the fly

===== Better System structure =====

  * The kernel has been heavily rewritten, cleaned up, and reduced to under 4000 lines of code
  * Each device driver (except the clock) is now a separate user process
  * Many new [[.:reliability|reliability]] features have been added
  * A new nonblocking notification mechanism for IPC has been added
  * Timer management has been improved and simplified
  * Scheduling has been made more general
  * A bit map controls which destinations a process can send to
  * A bit map controls which kernel calls drivers and servers can make
  * Control of 'superuser-like' powers for kernel calls have been modularized
  * Interrupt notification and messages have been integrated

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