2023-09-01 08:30:00
llvm-mos adapts the popular LLVM compiler to target the MOS 6502 processor (the 1980s microprocessor used in early home computing devices like the Apple II and Commodore 64). So developer Onno Kortman used it to cross-compile we are , a “minimalist RISC-V system emulator capable of running the Linux kernel and corresponding userspace”. And at the end of the day, Kortman have linux running on a commodore 64 . Johnwbyrd, Veteran Slashdot reader, shared the link to the Kortman repository. Some quotes: .
“But does it run Linux?” Now it can be answered definitively and in the affirmative for the Commodore C64…!
It runs extremely slow and needs a RAM Expansion Unit (REU) as there is no chance to fit it all in just 64KB.
It even emulates virtual memory with an MMU…
The screenshots took VICE a couple of hours in “warp mode” (activate it with Alt-W) to generate. So as it is, a real C64 should be able to boot Linux in about a week.
The compiled 6502 code is not really optimized yet, and it might be realistic to get a 10 times higher performance factor. Maybe even a simple way of JIT compilation? It should also be possible to implement starting a virtual machine with checkpoints (quickly precomputed on x86-64) to avoid the long boot process…
I’ve also tried a minimal micropython port (I can clean it up and post it on github if there’s interest), that one doesn’t use the MMU and can barely be used remotely very hopefully at 100% speed.
A key passage:Still I haven’t tested it on real hardware, that’s the next challenge… for you. So please send me a link to a time-lapse video of an original drive with REU booting Linux 😀
Their GitHub repository has build and run instructions…
#run #Linux #Commodore