
Inferno OS - pmoriarty
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?InfernoOs
======
mveety
I use this a lot. My text editor (octopus) runs in it. Inferno is pretty
interesting and very easy to code on, however the programming model takes
getting used to.

~~~
wcummings
Which editor do you use?

~~~
mveety
Octopus. It's an lsub research thing.

~~~
riffraff
what's an lsub ?

~~~
doublec
lsub and octopus:
[http://lsub.org/ls/octopus.html](http://lsub.org/ls/octopus.html)

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henesy
There is, at some level, a Java VM that is functional with Inferno OS. No idea
at what capacity it can be made to function, but I've been meaning to mess
with it for awhile now.
[https://code.google.com/p/inferno-j2d/](https://code.google.com/p/inferno-j2d/)

~~~
octetta
This was revived for a GSOC project a few years ago but the google link here
doesn't seem to have the resulting work. Anyone have more up to date details?

~~~
henesy
I believe that this is the up to date repository...it was GSOC for '13 and the
last commit time seems to match. The repo states that the repository was
cleaned and files removed to comply with Oracle/Sun, but there is an index
that lists all required files from JDK7.

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rockinengineer
This was the operating system used in my intro to operating systems course in
undergrad.. My professor was an expert, it was very interesting.

~~~
octetta
Is the the book you used?[http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Operating-Systems-
Applicati...](http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Operating-Systems-Applications-
Advanced/dp/1418837695)

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logicallee
I think names are important, but I don't tend to comment on them. It's more
like something good you can add if you find a good one.

But Inferno literally means Hell. (or "a large fire that is dangerously out of
control.")

I think it's a bit off-putting, like "OS from Hell."

~~~
EdwardCoffin
The name is in accord with the "Bell Labs tradition of selecting names that
make marketeers wince." [1]

[1] [http://www.plan9.bell-
labs.com/wiki/plan9/lfaq/#GENERAL_INFO...](http://www.plan9.bell-
labs.com/wiki/plan9/lfaq/#GENERAL_INFORMATION)

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pmoriarty
Is Limbo the only language you can use to create programs for Inferno, or are
there any others?

~~~
rcarmo
If by that you mean "languages that target the dis VM", yes. There was a
Scheme interpreter written in Limbo, but that's about it.

I think that's the biggest hurdle regarding Inferno - I'd like to see other
languages running atop dis.

~~~
pmoriarty
A Scheme interpreter! Wonderful. That counts. More than that, Scheme is the
langage I prefer to program in, so it's perfect.

Looks like this[1] is probably the one you mean.

Awesome.

[1] - [https://code.google.com/p/inferno-
scheme/](https://code.google.com/p/inferno-scheme/)

~~~
rcarmo
Beware, it is quite slow and limited.

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dmpk2k
If history had gone differently, we could have had this instead of Java.
Inferno was a futuristic jet to Java's stone-age wheel, but it was not to be.

A perfect example that superior design and implementation doesn't win out.
Other factors are more significant.

~~~
cgh
You're comparing an operating system to a language specification. Not sure I
see what you're getting at here.

~~~
SixSigma
The beauty of Inferno is that one of the incarnations happens to be an
operating system that runs on bare metal. But _the very same code_ can be run
as a command line program in Windows / OpenBSD / OSX / Linux. Or as a multi-
windowed program like an MDI or a single window, or a full screen window in
kiosk mode, or as a network service on IBM's Blue Gene.

Inferno is used by IBM, NASA, Alcatel-Lucent, the US DoD.

~~~
xorcist
Wasn't there a JavaOS as well at some stage? Or at least planned?

~~~
SixSigma
Sun even made Java cpu's / appliances

These days there's
[http://www.azulsystems.com/products/vega/overview](http://www.azulsystems.com/products/vega/overview)

Bruce Ellis (one of the people who created Mark V Shaney) and one of the
original Inferno developers until it was sold, has been working on a Verilog
cpu to execute DIS natively but still no prototype.

One of the beauties of Inferno is it will run on a platform with no hardware
MMU.

And the Styx protocol means it can do great things easily. It has even had
servers running on Logo Mindstorm.

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jetm9
what could be the use case now for learning Limbo/Inferno? it says
"distributed" but i couldnt see what it offers for distributed as in multi
rack or even multi dc distributed. distributed as in distributed automatically
to threads?

~~~
doublec
Here's an example of distributing machine resources across different networks
and devices [1] using inferno. An example of distributing computation is at
[2].

[1] [http://bluishcoder.co.nz/2012/11/07/sharing-computer-and-
pho...](http://bluishcoder.co.nz/2012/11/07/sharing-computer-and-phone-
resources-using-inferno-os.html) [2] [http://debu.gs/entries/inferno-
part-2-let-s-make-a-cluster](http://debu.gs/entries/inferno-part-2-let-s-make-
a-cluster)

~~~
pmoriarty
Incidentally, that first link has a nice set of instructions on how to get,
compile, and use Inferno. Thanks!

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doublec
Mechiel Lukkien has a bunch of interesting Limbo programs and libraries that
work on Inferno [1]. Also of interest might be running Inferno on Android
phones [2].

[1] [https://bitbucket.org/mjl](https://bitbucket.org/mjl) [2]
[http://bluishcoder.co.nz/2012/06/11/building-inferno-os-
for-...](http://bluishcoder.co.nz/2012/06/11/building-inferno-os-for-android-
phones.html)

~~~
mjl-
ah, nice to see that code linked! quite a few of those repo's aren't very
interesting, some are:

\- httpd (have been using it as my webserver for many years) \- qwm (window
manager, inspired by acme and a bit of dwm, but a bit buggy) \- vixen (vi
clone in limbo (i can't use acme for days on end)) \- wmrun, together with qwm
and vixen was an attempt at get more of an acme-like workflow \- ssh & novt,
ssh client and terminal

i attempted to write enough software for me to use it daily. sadly i ran out
of time & energy.

inferno is such an amazing system. very clean code. limbo is a joy to program
in. it deserves more attention than it gets...

~~~
doublec
Thanks for making all your code available! I've used ircfs and httpd amongst
others and it's also been a great reference of Limbo to look at.

I go through phases of doing as much as possible inside Inferno and it would
be much more difficult without your contributions.

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matheusbn
I'm wondering if (Inferno OS) and (TempleOS) would do a dual boot together on
a PC? :)

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Immortalin
[http://doc.cat-v.org/inferno/books/inferno_programming_with_...](http://doc.cat-v.org/inferno/books/inferno_programming_with_limbo/Inferno_Programming_With_Limbo.pdf)

