MCC Interim Linux ***************** These README files describe the MCC interim version of Linux. They apply to version 0.99.p10+, which is the most recently released version. They are taken from the document available in this directory as Interim.dvi and as Interim.ps. Files: README This file. README.linux Linux-specific information. README.ftp Getting the files. README.prepare Preparing to install Linux. Package sizes. README.install Installing MCC interim Linux. README.recover Recovering from fatal disasters. README.adapt Tailoring MCC interim Linux to suit your taste. README.fdisk The Linux fdisk program. Acknowledgements Where the programs come from. BUGS+WARNINGS A current list of problems and fixes. Introduction ************ The MCC interim versions of Linux are designed to allow people who are not Unix experts to install a version of the Linux operating system on a PC. The installed system should be self-contained, but easy to extend. What are the MCC interim versions of Linux? =========================================== When Linux version 0.10 first appeared in the autumn of 1991, it was released by Linus Torvalds as a pair of floppy disks, known as the "boot" and "root" disks. Linus himself released several utilities which did not fit on these disks. Eventually quite a number of contributions were available. Software distribution was rather chaotic, and you needed a lot of effort to collect a complete base system. The Manchester Computing Centre (MCC) is a part of the University of Manchester, supporting computing at the University, at UMIST (the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology), and at several other British universities. We began to make Linux available by anonymous ftp in November 1991, and we released the first MCC interim version of Linux (version 0.12+) the following February. This version made use of ramdisk code written by Theodore Ts'o to mount a virtual root disk at boot time from the kernel floppy. (This type of distribution was used earlier by Andrew Tannenbaum to distribute his operating system MINIX.) With version 0.99p8+, we abandoned the ramdisk-as-root and adopted a combined bootable root disk. The first combined root disk was created by H J Lu (who made essential use of Werner Almesberger's LILO software). Unlike H J's bootable root disk, the MCC disk does not contain an executable shell. Very shortly after the first MCC interim version of Linux appeared, other people released similar versions: Dave Safford's TAMU releases and Martin Junius's MJ versions were eventually followed by Peter Macdonald's massive, comprehensive SLS releases and H J Lu's small base systems. What distinguishes the MCC versions from these others? From its first release, MCC interim Linux has included basic utilities, the GNU C compiler, and the sources to the current kernel release. The software included in MCC distributions comes from a wide variety of sources, but we try to make sources to all of it available, though not as part of the distribution. MCC interim versions aim to provide a stable base system, which can be installed in a short time, and to which other software can be added with relatively little effort. Every binary file in an MCC distribution has been compiled under that version of the kernel, by that version of `gcc', is linked with that version of the libraries, and has been tested to some extent. The only exception to this is the GNU C compiler and libraries, which we take directly from H J Lu's distribution. We install this version of Linux on small 386-SX machines for our C and Unix courses, and we need to be able to install it on twelve machines in about one hour. We also distribute this version of Linux to our clients in Manchester. We make no attempt to include a wide variety of packages, or large packages such as X386. The emacs and info packages were added to MCC interim Linux only because we have been using them for our courses. People who want a distribution which contains nearly everything should get the SLS versions, which are about five times the size of MCC, and quite comprehensive. Our versions are called "interim" because they are not intended to be final or official. They are small, harmonious, and moderately tested. They do not conform to everyone's taste -- what release does? -- but they should provide a stable base to which other software can be added. This version of Linux is prepared to allow you to upgrade an existing system, as well as to install a complete new system. The limitations are mainly that partitions must contain minix or ext2 file systems: ext and xiafs file systems are not supported in the installation, though they can be mounted from the installed system with no difficulty. Upgrading an old system looks just like installing a new system, except that you don't need to run `mkswap' and `mkfs' before installing. Instead you should run `fsck', which you can do from the boot disk. Old binaries are deleted, except for some old libraries, which may be required by programs which you have acquired from somewhere else. Text files, especially the configuration files in `/etc', are more of a problem. We don't want to throw away the old files, which you may have spent some considerable time polishing, but we must install new configuration files, or else the system may not boot properly, or may work badly if it boots at all. For this reason, the installation creates a special directory named `/backupdirs'. In this directory it creates subdirectories such as `etc', `etc/lilo', `root', and `home/user'. Any old configuration files which might be overwritten during the upgrade are moved to these directories before the new files are installed. After installation, you may cautiously compare the new files with the old ones, and incorporate your personal preferences into the new files. You must be particularly careful with files such as `/etc/inittab' or `/etc/rc', since mistakes in these may prevent the system from booting, or cause serious problems while the system is running. It is a good idea to read the man pages for `init' and `inittab' before making any changes to these files. A number of other `rc' files are created in `/etc' during the installation; these are described to some extent in `/etc/inittab'. See README.adapt Copyright and conditions of distribution ======================================== Software today comes under a wide variety of copyright restrictions, and it is important to know what conditions apply to the software you use. The software in MCC interim versions of Linux, and other software which can be added to it, is copyrighted in a variety of ways. In general, all of it is available to be used by anyone, and the source to all of it is available as well. If you intend to use Linux or any of its parts for commercial purposes, you should get the source files and read the copyrights contained in them. (A list of the sources can be found in Acknowledgments.) Most Linux software falls under one of the following categories: GNU copyleft The GNU General Public License applies to the Linux kernel, to the GNU C and C++ compilers, to all utilities distributed by the Free Software Foundation, and to many contributed utilities. This copyright, also known as a copyleft, is designed to ensure that the source to software is available, and that you can give away or sell copies of the source and of compiled binaries. There is no warranty, but you are obliged to notify anyone of any changes which you have made to the original. You are obliged to publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and a disclaimer of warranty. Works derived from copylefted works must be released under the same terms. The terms are specified in the GNU General Public License, which is available by anonymous ftp. See README.ftp GNU library license The GNU library license applies to the GNU C++ library and to all works that must be linked with this library. This allows commercial binaries to be supplied in an unlinked form, so that purchasers can link the binaries with other versions of the library. BSD copyright The BSD copyright applies to all source from the University of California at Berkeley. Source may be reused freely, but it should contain a notice to the effect that all or part of the software was developed by the University of California at Berkeley. Moreover, the name of the University may not be used to endorse or promote such products. MIT copyright The X Window System, version 11, is copyrighted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and `X Window System' is a trademark owned by MIT. Most of the source for this software was developed by the MIT X Consortium, and is covered by the MIT copyright. This is similar to the BSD copyright in permitting free commercial use of MIT code, subject to the inclusion of similar notices giving credit for any MIT code used in the final product. Public domain software Some programs in this distribution are in the public domain. They have no copyright attached and can be used in any way without any obligation or restriction.