From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: imp@bsdimp.com (Warner Losh) Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2017 22:50:16 -0600 Subject: [TUHS] Zilog Z80 Unix In-Reply-To: <20170420043410.815CC124AEAD@mail.bitblocks.com> References: <19663.1492652562@cesium.clock.org> <20170420030913.A3CDF124AEAA@mail.bitblocks.com> <20170420043410.815CC124AEAD@mail.bitblocks.com> Message-ID: There were a number of 8088/8086 ports as well that didn't have memory protection.... On Wed, Apr 19, 2017 at 10:34 PM, Bakul Shah wrote: > Yes, Cromemco was the company, Cromix their unix like OS. > > IIRC, in 1981-83 timeframe someone I worked with had mentioned > he used to work at Cromemco and that they had a unix like OS > called Cromix. Cromemco were in Mountain View so likely they > were at the WCCF. > > Even though z80 could only address 64k, their system had a > bank select under s/w control & upto 512K of RAM could be > added. Z80 didn't have a supervisor mode but still, the bank > select must have afforded enouh protection from bad pointers > crashing random processes. > > On Wed, 19 Apr 2017 23:40:30 EDT Gregg Levine wrote: >> Hello! >> That was also a board vendor. FYI: The first GASP [GetAway Special >> Program] a Space Shuttle payload made use of such a board. >> ----- >> Gregg C Levine gregg.drwho8 at gmail.com >> "This signature fought the Time Wars, time and again." >> >> >> On Wed, Apr 19, 2017 at 11:09 PM, Bakul Shah wrote: >> > On Wed, 19 Apr 2017 18:42:42 PDT "Erik E. Fair" wrote: >> >> I have a memory of having seen a Zilog Z-80 (not Z8002 like the Onyx) based >> >> Unix, possibly v6, at a vendor show or conference - perhaps the West Coast >> >> Computer Faire (WCCF) in the late 1970s or early 1980s. >> >> >> >> I recall asking the people in the booth how they managed without an MMU, and >> >> don't recall their answer. I do remember thinking that since Unix had "grown >> >> up" with MMUs to stomp on obvious pointer mistakes, the software ought to be >> >> relatively well-behaved ... you know: not trying to play "core war" with >> >> itself? >> >> >> >> I searched the TUHS archives cursorily with Google to see if this has been >> >> previously mentioned, but pretty much all Z80 CPU references have for its use >> >> in "smart" I/O devices back in the day. >> >> >> >> Does anyone else remember this Z80 Unix and who did it? Or maybe that it was >> >> a clone of some kind ... ? >> >> >> >> looking for a little history, >> >> >> >> Erik Fair >> > >> > You may be thinking of Cromemco.