Linux 0.00
!Linux 0.01 >
Ever wondered what the first version of Linux was like? Well... it's nothing terribly interesting.
 Linux 0.00, in all its glory, running in QEMU | |
| Developer(s) | Linus Torvalds |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1991 |
| Architecture | i386 |
At this point, the OS consisted of two whole assembly files, a booter, and a kernel which boots into protected mode, and executes two hard coded tasks. The tasks? To switch between printing "AAAA" and "BBBB" in an endless loop.
Linus said about this version:
So after getting a simple task-switcher (it switched between two processes that printed AAAA... and BBBB... respectively by using the timer-interrupt - Gods I was proud over that)
Running it
To run it in QEMU:
- Download the bootable floppy here
- Extract the .gz somewhere
- Start QEMU with a command like this:
emu-system-i386 -m 1 -cpu 486 -fda boot00.vfd
- Watch as the AAAA's and BBBB's print on your screen!
What runs?
- AAAA
- BBBB
Source Code
Believe it or not, the source code for this thing was actually preserved, and you can see it here!