The Hardest Thing: Building and Running the UNIX Kernel from Original Sources

[@taberguld]

This channel gives me much joy. Happy Christmas, everyone!

[@DavesGarage]

Same to you!

[@RY-TIOUSRY]

indeed. ditto. 📃📄😊

[@ZioYuri78]

Happy Christmas to you!

[@NoX-512]

Merry Christmas. Glædelig jul 🎅🏼

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@matt_b...]

Oh man, I was the release engineer responsible for exactly one Solaris release at Sun Microsystems. Even when you know what you're doing, it's a chore. Can't wait to see how this unfolds!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@bdietz2]

thank you for making this great video about working with BSD Unix on a PDP-11. I'm 75 years old and this reminds me of working with Honeywell's H716, which was a PDP 11 competitor with similar memory addressing constraints. Years later I did some custom X.25 driver work on Xenix 286 running on a PC/AT clone which had it's own 64 kb segment size memory limits. Now you can get documentation and great textbooks on Unix/BSD/Linux internals, but back in 1987 it was a real slow slog of compile, rebuild and test and then try another experiment -- very much like what you described. Keep up the great videos, and keep reminding newbies how important is was (and is) to understand how things work.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@bdlii]

😂not sure most people would LOL often during this video but when you’ve spent any time IT tshooting or tinkering one can really appreciate the craziness involved in this project.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@westlydurkee6230]

This channel is a godsend. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience and happy holidays.

[@DavesGarage]

You are very welcome!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@bobzwolinski3793]

The never-ending details of building an operating system for old hardware! Thanks for taking the time to do this and take some of us on a trip down memory lane. Have a great holiday.

[@zf4hp24]

IBM delivered their operating systems on a tape. You edited a ton of assembler macros and then performed a SYSGEN, assembling and link-editing a bootable "nucleus" capable of booting. Took days of hit and miss. Oh, and since it was a cold boot of a clean machine, the initial and very minimal operating system was booted from a tape drive!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@doalwa]

It cannot possibly get any nerdier than this, amazing stuff 👍 Also kind of wild that modern day FreeBSD still stores the Kernel sources in /usr/src/sys and you create your custom kernel config in an all caps file. This mentality of not fixing something if it ain’t broken is what I love about the BSDs.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@dannyboy42223]

One of the many things of love about your channel is even though you were with Microsoft your channel covers all tech realms. Always get giddy when I see a new video in my notifications

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@SisterIdaKnow20]

My first job back in 1988 had nothing to do with a PDP-11, though my supervisor told of his learning computing on a PDP-11. My own experience was on the DEC / VAX (thought I don't recall any other information about this device). The disk drives were removable packs that exposed the platters briefly to open air. Something that a 24 year old me was terrified of. The experience of working with the equipment was the core of my life back then. I LOVED HARDWARE back then. I believe I commented on another of Dave's PDP-11 videos with a story of the first time I ever set sight on a PDP-11. It had been recently (at the time 2000) and was living in a space, out in the open, just outside the data center, and OH how I wished I could have shipped that home. I could hear my boss from back in the '80's in my mind, telling me how he learned on the PDP-11. Your videos are both entertaining and educational and MOST appreciated Dave.. Always thank You.. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

[@GnuReligion]

I've only caught a glimpse of those old platters. They have intriguing patterns on the surface. Instead of a PDP-11, VAX, or Perkin-Elmer, would rather have a DEC Alpha. It runs VMS, Unix, and WinNT -- while fitting on your desk. Had a job converting a traffic control system from VAX to Alpha, in VMS. Word size differences in hardware caused delicious size/alignment issues.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@rogerhuston8287]

My first real tech job was a configuration manager for Symantec in the 90's. It took us over 19 hours to compile WinNT from Microsoft, but their build system could only use 1 computer. At Symantec we developed a distributed system, compiling each library independly. Sure, linking would break, but the last computer going down the list would eventually link everything after it was properly compiled. Still, Norton Utilities would still take most of the night to compile using 3 to 5 computers and these were the biggest baddest 486 machines we could get. LOL

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@akulkis]

Norton Utilities... How to take a slow machine and make it even slower just trying to get some basic diagnostic information. One of the things which made me absolutely despise everything Microsoft.... Getting the same information out of a Unix or Linux machine doesn't load down the entire damned system.

[@farsyte]

This triggered a lot of old old memories; I spent a number of years doing kernel debugging and porting at Sun Microsystems, and the procedures for SunOS 3.x and 4.x were basically identical. Our build times were somewhat faster than you note -- "make" was able to run jobs in parallel (a feature that, if memory serves, was specifically done because too many engineers spent too much time grinding their teeth and smashing their keyboards while waiting for kernel compiles, at Sun and elsewhere). So engineers out there still using make, you can (I think, and only if my swiss-cheese memory is working properly today) thank those huge kernel build times for your ability to just type "make -J" and have it flash-cook your whole project at once ;)

[@RobSchofield]

Ahhh! I'd forgotten about -J!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@bachgenb]

We built our first Unix (Bell Labs v7 or maybe v8) from a magtape and set of man pages sent from Bell Labs in a Jiffybag. No magtape on our 11-45, so had to read it on PDP10 and somehow get it on. We laughed out loud at typing cc-c c.c. But we soon had it flying, about the third Unix installation in the UK. Those were the days!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@relicfrog]

oh how nice ... a real config-based classic unix kernel provisioning majic ... what a great pre-Christmas episode! I love it!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@edsirett3860]

This takes me back 40 years. Never did Unix on PDP, I used Dec's own system RSX. It took all day to build itself from source, wrong options -> start over. The user application used to take many hours to compile from scratch. Every build, after an edit, took 30 mins.

[@robertthomas5906]

I remember those days. I used to compile on a Vax 11/750. The worst part is if you screwed up a file like forgot a comma or something. Then to get things going you edit another file then compile only to realize you forgot something else. Then we started to compile on the 8600. That was oh so much faster!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@dougdavidson175]

Thanks Dave. Merry Christmas & a safe, prosperous & Happy New Year!

[@ScottPlude]

I recently stared a new job and I am blessed to have a supervisor as nerdy as me. Talking to him always ends up having discussions on the topics that you discuss like this one today. Off topic, I know, but I figure more likes and comments will help the algos.

[@DavesGarage]

Make sure he and all his friends subscribe! :-)

[@jamesdenning9893]

1976 I helped write the output spooler. UC OS class - Ken Thompson was the instructor...... (I'm really old)

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@ericanderson2482]

Building UNIX for the first time for new hardware is challenging, but gets easier with practice. I had the job building new UNIX kernels both Berkley and ATT versions on a variety of new hardware platforms. I have great thanks to the academic computing center of St. Olaf College, which ran PDP 11/45 and then PDP 11/70 machines running UNIX for student use. The majority of the staff of the computer center were students, and we had full view of the UNIX sources and were responsible for adding device drivers and making updates etc. This experience put me well ahead in my career after graduation. Glad to see your build was a success, and that you had fun.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@snarfusmaximus]

I compiled a kernel on my 11/73 a few months ago as I wanted networking. I got hit with the overlay issue as well but a quick web search gave me the solution. The last time I compiled a kernel before that was 15 years earlier and I had forgotten everything. That machine and my two QBus VAXes are my most treasured vintage computers - well, apart from my Data General Nova 3 and Eclipse S/130.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@coldlyanalytical1351]

I loved programming the NOVA's in Assembly ... non-orthogonal but perfect.

[@bubbavonbraun]

Had a similar journey with RT-11 and RSX.. pick and choose devices/functionality you need. It's truly tailoring to suit your needs.. and you really did need to know what you wanted to achieve with the system as resources was limited. Somehow I think we miss that closer understanding of the hardware in these plug and play Lego type days. Again loving these walks through memory lane, please keep it up Dave.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@yelowpunk]

If youtube asks me later, I'm marking this video 'aspirational' 'educational' and 'feel-good'.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@DaedalusRaistlin]

You know, that's not so much different from compiling your own Linux kernels in the 90s. Except that I recall it taking multiple hours on my systems. I had to do it for some weird hardware I had at first, but it became habit to just customize every kernel I used. I'd take out anything not necessary and put in whatever I wanted, then hope the result booted. I also learned to never overwrite my existing kernel image in case I really messed things up, from experience :)

[@c1ph3rpunk]

486: Type ‘make’ and go to bed.

[@shadowopsairman1583]

And Windows could be customized before being compiled to a optical disk

[@RobertLipe]

​@@c1ph3rpunk I was a GCC maintainer in the 486 days. (There's still a 'robertl' directory in the GCC source tree. That's me.) Bootstrapping a full three-stage stage (building source from native to build an unoptimized GCC, using that to build an optimized version, then running the optimized version to build itself again to be sure the code matched... and running the dejaGNU ttest suite) took more than 24 hours. Thus, most of us could do it only pull it off a few times a week as even narrowing down a miscompilation to a specific submit was hard. You couldn't exactly run distcc or ccache since the whole purpose was to exercise the compiler itself. It was also the era when RAM was garbage, and this was a serious stress test. Lots of failures were just attributed to Gremlins. You'd sometimes restart only to have it mysteriously work and never be fully comfortable, whether that was a good thing (a bug you didn't have to track down) or a bad one (a Makeefile race condition or other transient problem that was real). There's plenty to not miss about the old days. Running the test suite on every submit was an industry-changer and out of reach for most of us in that era.

[@kla_sch3864]

@@c1ph3rpunk No. With a 486 it took less than an hour to compile the complete kernel with all modules. The slowest compile time i experienced was 5-6h on a 386sx with only 2MB main memory. And only because the compiler needs more memory. The system was constantly swapping. So i stayed with my Minix 386vm (and a C386 instead of GCC), which was more capable to run with less memory.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

@ modules? I pre-date kernel modules.

[@user_375a82]

I worked on a DEC VAX machine. It had a special room where the computer hardware and tapes lived and then terminal cables fed to out to offices, of which mine was one.

[@brucemunro8598]

When I graduated in 1984 I got a job in a telecommunications company where the development environment was based on VAX systems running BSD Unix and later on DEC'S ow Unix named Ultrix. Loved working with those machines, an 11/785 and 11/750.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@JakeSwett]

As a retro computing (hardware and software) and unix enthusiast, this is one of the best videos I've seen all year.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@zeupapanew]

This is so awesome! Tinkering with old hardware and building your own kernel is that kind of fun, not a lot of people understand. I love the way you make these videos! Thank you, I enjoyed every minute of it. Merry Christmas!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@AllboroLCD]

This channel has come such a long way, good on you Dave for constantly improving yourself here! They claim nothing is more secure than some ole fashioned BSD

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@donaldwert7137]

I never got this deep into the technical side, but I enjoyed what I did. As soon as you mentioned "config.sys", my teeth started to itch.

[@sleeptyper]

I still remember that time when me and friend squeezed 637kB of free base memory for my Pc-Dos 6.3 😂

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@SirajFlorida]

What a fantastic series. It's been fantastic watching you put together this classic machine .Cudos!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@vibrolax]

I first used Unix in 1983 with 4.1 BSD running on a VAX 11/750 in graduate school. Learned the pdp 11 instruction set the first semester writing a compiler. Second semester was writing a bare metal os for the pdp 11 simulator using the portable c compiler. But all the cool kids were writing games for Xerox Alto's in mesa.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@RY-TIOUSRY]

your tenacity inspires. Dave. merry Christmas

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@KerboOnYT]

This is the kind of niche content I enjoy. Great episode!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@danieldare2640]

And as with most of your videos I was a little bit smarter by the end of it, so thank you, great channel. Merry Christmas

[@GlenHHodges]

50% smarter

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@majorhayze]

As someone who has no conceivable use for any of this info, I want to thank you for making these videos which are both intriguing and of benefit to others who like to tinker! (I’m more electronics, but still cool to hear about!)

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage3]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@andersjjensen]

Doing a custom kernel on Debian 2.0 was my first "tech rush" with computers. DOS had always seemed so tame and boring to me, and I wanted there "to be more too it". Fast forward 30 years (where the hell did they go?!?) and I'm still deep in the weeds. Once you "get" the UNIX shell no GUI will ever be anything but a restriction to your workflow. Thanks for doing this episode on "our cultural heritage" :P

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@JimNichols]

The school I graduated from ran 2.11 BSD on a PDP 1170 man you stirred up some memories there ... :) I like your narrative style, videography and just the easy way you have of sharing information. Thank you.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@jonbradbury3843]

Been in the business 40 years, thanks for the memories

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@LMacNeill]

Closest thing I've ever come to doing this was building the Linux kernel from the source for a DEC Alpha back in early 1994 -- it was even before version 1.0 of the Linux kernel was released. Something like v0.99pl98 or 99 -- very high up there, right before 1.0, but not quite 1.0 yet. But I didn't do it alone -- I had a couple of friends who helped. We did it just to see if we could. And we actually managed to pull it off, too. Fun, nerdy project. 🙂

[@perwestermark8920]

I did use these 0.97 .. 0.99 versions for real work for quite some time. First dual-boot Linux/Windows on a 486 machine before I later got a Pentium 90 wiyh Windows NT 3.51. That 486 computer did continue running Linux for at least 6 or 7 more years.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@HybridRobotix]

I have built and deployed new kernels for both FreeBSD and OpenBSD. I have also done Linux From Scratch (twice) - very much a great learning experience. Once, I even hand configured custom DNS for a VPS.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@TheFirstGhirn]

I enjoyed your video... I confess I only made it to half way before I glazed over. Your patients is most impressive, almost as much as mine once was, using a PDP11 as a front end for the Compugraphic MSC12 typesetting machine back 1982. I'm happy to say I never had to dive deeply into the OS of the thing, but the hardware kept me more that busy enough. Well done to revive this wonderful old tech.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@BWGPEI]

My experience with UNIX was a long time back. Hands dirty - oh yes - replace 8 serial chips per octal IO board (we had three of them). And guess who ran the serial lines for those old terminals, grin. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@khachaturian100]

This was entertaining. You earned my like.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@microchipmatt]

You can't even imagine the vast amount of respect that I have for you as a human being. And especially a technical one.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@zestynotions]

Mother of....!! Reminds me of times when my old manager would explain the struggles of how punch tapes would be loaded over night to load a program and any mistakes would need debugging the next day also shame shame on the engineer that just wasted everyones time by trying to load a programs with an error on it. How blessed are we really today? Kudos to you Dave for the work and the presentation.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@normbograham3]

I modified the linux kernel, and compiled it for a client. It was a trivial code change, but it took me days to determine I needed to change it, and how. The end client, was migrating code from three Unix platforms, and mainframe (cobol), to Linux, and bugs were jumping out left and right. It took 5 months to fix all the bugs, some of which had been there for 10 years. It was 90% C++, 3% Cobol, and 2% Fortran. Other was Shell scripting, AWK, etc.

[@DavesGarage]

The only real customization I did of the codebase was to tweak NMOUNT to allow me to mount up to 8 drives, as the code itself normally only supports 6. Otherwise it was just configuration, but I did make that one change!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@chrisdurante2544]

Well done, its always informative to watch your videos

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@fuzzy1dk]

was there supposed to be a boot prompt at around 16:25 ?

[@DavesGarage]

Yes, sadly the last clip seems to have been omitted somehow! Sorry about that... you're not missing much, but it's a little weird!

[@bettis211]

@@DavesGarageoh jeez! Kind of feels like a let down when you get through the whole video and then don’t even see it boot at the end

[@rogerlevasseur397]

College for me was using a DECSYSTEM-2060 with TOPS-20, but also a VAX 11/750 with BSD 4.1 at first, then 4.2, and a PDP 11/23+ with BSD 2.9. Learned a lot of BSD UNIX on my own and set me up well for working at a place that utilized and put their product onto Sun-2/Sun-3 and Sun-4 SPARC machines.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@RobSchofield]

Ha! That was great fun. I was doing this professionally on SUN IPX machines, then later an NEC EISA box, and several Pentium machines - for work and pleasure. Brought back a lot of long-submerged memories! At some point I have to get my DEC applicationDEC 433MP multi-486 SMP, dual SCSI bus, EISA machine running with some flavour of FreeBSD. *That* will be a challenge...

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@pyajudeme9245]

This is what retired C++ programmers with too much spare time do ... hahaha Awesome video!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@coldlyanalytical1351]

C++? Pah, new fangled nonsense ...

[@samanthajarosek9756]

Dave out here doing everything I wish I could do. Kudos.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@JanWestin]

Totally obscure and exactly up my alley :) Like for instance the topic of mainframes and how it feels we have come full circle with the cloud. While I don't ever see anyone doing a full reverse and looping back. But there are for sure a lot of paradigms and similarities that is shared from the yeas passed.

[@bdietz2]

Remember that the PDP-11 minicomputer was a radical alternative to a REAL IBM mainframe. Any manager in data processing knew he could lose his job for not buying IBM -- but that any misery he had with the expensive IBM solution would have lots of company and therefore lots of cover for his problems.

[@JanWestin]

@@bdietz2 thanks for the insight! While I'm of a 80-vintage. I have worked with IBM AS/400 in the paper/pulp industry's. Along side with HP UX es and all kinds of fun stuff in the several data centers that were in operation. Never came across any DEC hardware though.

[@RaymondJohnsonM]

This is the kind of information that deserves digital immortality.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@complexity5545]

I compiled my first freebsd kernel in 2005. I didn't know what I was doing and it took 3 days to compile on a dual opteron server. I think I compile every feature during that time which is why it took 3 days. It was an eye opener. At one point it died twice. I soon learned to use ccache and distcc. It was a nightmare, but it taught me alot by digging into the docs.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@garner6583]

Very functional eyebrows! I love it!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@tridium-go6hw]

Great stuff Dave! I was a high school student in the late 70's, my first computer course was learning BASIC using Teletype 33's that were time-shared to a PDP-10. Then Fortran IV using punch-cards. good memories...

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@alpcns]

Man, that brought back some memories... both good (many) and bad (some). Don't you just love that steady block cursor on a green or amber screen? I do. Thank you for another very enjoyable episode. A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@gracemember101]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. God bless you and your family.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@Ranchhand323]

Merry Christmas Dave !

[@DavesGarage]

Merry Christmas!

[@perwestermark8920]

I don't have any PDP-11. But starting to get an urge to start up an old Norsk Data ND100.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@Crusaderon]

THX Dave! I am a fan

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@YoutubeBorkedMyOldHandle_why]

For the past 3 weeks a friend has had a problem with his VOIP phone which neither he, nor any of the people around him could fix. The smartest of them concluded that it was useless and suggested he throw it out. Finally, I visited him yesterday and had his phone working in less than 3 minutes. So, I like to think I'm a pretty smart guy and that I know a few things. But then, I watch one of your videos and I am quickly reminded of just how little I actually know. Thanks Dave ;-)

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@c128stuff]

Welcome to the club, Dave! Yeah... it is a bit arcane by now... and haven't done this for decades. I do still build freebsd from source, and for much of the 2000s also built NetBSD for VAX from source, but.. even NetBSD in the early 2000s was easy and convenient to build from source, relatively speaking.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@justz00t48]

I am really looking forward to this.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@mikejones-vd3fg]

Very cool, knowing how these early computers worked and how software controlled them is very useful in todays era were we finally have the keys to the CPU and can drive the chips ourselves like with microelectronics. For the first time i understood the need for an operating system to being with, I would have never gained that understanding learning from the top down. But from the ground up with a 1 program system and building from there, you can see the reasoning to want a more dynamic system and options an operating system provides. Look forward to more and how these operating systems are constructed to work on these different hardwares.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@Chef_PC]

Ah, the good old days. I loved that time of my life. Hacking things together, chopping it up.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@tekvax01]

Back in the early days of Linux in the mid-90s, before boot time loadable modules, you needed to compile the kernel all the time, for a different SCSI card, Mice, or CDROM... I lost count of how many times I recompiled back then... it was a lot! :)

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@LostInThe0zone]

A fascinating tale. I learned Unix on PDP-11 at University of Illinois Chicago Circle in 1980. Kernel build would come later, but nothing quite this complex.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@neuro]

1993 linux kernel recompile feels. it's a testament to the kernel build process that you can build a custom kernel on a modern linux system in pretty much the same way as a 1991 BSD release on 1988 DEC hardware. it would have been nice to see more visuals tho, dave, like seeing the dip switch changes or how you transferred the compiled kernel image from simh to the real 11/83.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@paulcohen1555]

Amazing! And I still remember the days that I worked with nova computers in the 70's. System with 64KB maximum (core) memory, 2.5MB hard drive handled a whole business computing needs😅 Difficult to understand for kids that are born with an 1GB 8 core CPU smartphone "glued" to their hands.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@strayling1]

Great trip down memory lane, thanks! When you say those minicomputers were large, you weren't kidding - I remember standing *inside* a PDP 11/44 to reach for circuit boards in the depths of the cabinet. Field service was an endlessly fascinating job on those old beasts. I tried not to say it, but can't help myself: why use ":wq" when ":x" saves a keystroke and unnecessary disk writes?

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@bruceallen6492]

Thank you Dave! I got to do some low level configuration on old machines, but it was like working from a recipe. I have an older BSD book that references ASTs because BSD was ported or developed on VAX, which had an AST register. AST being the granddaddy of APC in the NT realm. I wont use money as an excuse because one has to have the intestinal fortitude to fight through the old documentation to do what you are doing. I appreciate your efforts!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@jasonme3557]

This is great. My first Unix build was Solaris. So much fun back then

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@mikehosken4328]

Reminds me of compiling the Linux kernel for a HP 9000 180c risc machine. It takes about 3 days to build. I’ve always had fun tweaking and compiling kernels, thanks for sharing your BSD experience.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@thefluentone]

My father used to work on compilers for Digital. So nice to see a modern visit through time.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@rtdg4419]

I am very impressed!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@ScarredToons]

At 16:24 looks like the screencapture is blank during final login. Was that intended? Love the content of the video!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@emilcziljak7224]

I enjoy your work and your show always :)

[@DavesGarage]

Thank you very much!

[@terpcj]

Reminds me of when I was given a development board of an LSI-11/23 (no case, not yet space-rated) that pretty much just had a boot-loader and two 8" floppies, a binder of xeroxed hardware info sheets, and the assignment to design SDLC drivers for a future satellite. I compiled on a PDP-11/something (I forget) and did sneaker-net transfer via floppy. My visual I/O was a digital monitor that just displayed the hex code I read from pins to see if things worked or not. It was a lot of weeks of mostly "or not". When I got RT-11 installed it was way better. Fun times.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@danboid]

Not that much has changed in 50 years compared to something like NetBSD. Good work Dave!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@locnar1701]

I have gone down this route, but with vastly more modern hardware and software, but the experience seems about the same. However, I did not have a fancy emulator or another computer other than the one in the University Lab to research. Hardware: 486sx/16, 16mb RAM, (it was 8 years old at the time, as we were in the Pentium Pro days) and I was wrestling FreeBSD 2.2.6. 14 hours for the kernel, but nowhere near the complexity of the DEC machines.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@u2b83]

I've been using GPT-o1 to help me build all kinds of stuff from source. From outdated CUDA drivers for outdated Nvidia cards to boutique technical analysis libs for 10 year old Linux. It is sooo much more fun to build from source when you know there's a fair chance you can succeed!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@harryheinisch3446]

Can confirm Clem worked at DEC and Compaq. He is a UNIX guru and walking library of knowledge like Dave.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@mercster]

Finally, something worthwhile.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@Sevenfeet0]

Ah, memories of my early PDP programming days in high school in the early 80s and especially my Apple ][ assembly language programming. Back then, every byte was precious and it's still amazing that an early version of Unix ran under such memory restrictions, but hey, it worked.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@marbles05]

Been there. Done that. For HP, Sun, Ultrix, Arete, Xenix, NCR, Sequent, etc

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n.

[@jgm-233]

To think I only kept a copy of a PDP11 manual as a memory of this era! But I do remember managing a network "drive" allocated 10MB for a set of records, effectively all text files and early days CAD drawings. These hardware drives Dave talks about, were genuinely massive in their day. Today the very same records drive is measured in terabytes. .

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

[@johnhaller5851]

DEC discontinued a number of the terminal boards, so we needed to use the DZ11. Unfortunately, it didn't support hardware flow control. Luckily, the KMC11 was still available, and was an I/O coprocessor. The DZ11 had a ring indicator, so I repurposed it as a CTS pin (requiring rewiring about 50 RS232 cables), and updated existing KMC11 DZ assist driver to monitor Ring Indicator to do hardware flow control. This made our serial to cable modem implement hardware flow control, which was needed because the serial to cable modem wasn't far enough for the 9600bps output. This was done on System V, as AT&T wouldn't be caught dead using BSD. Fun times.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@anon_y_mousse]

This actually sounds like fun to me. Back like 20-ish years ago I played with the SysV source, and it was interesting seeing the differences between its various utilities and what at the time was modern Linux utilities. Seeing how things have changed in the interim is really interesting too.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@dualfade8004]

i spent so much time on old hardware back in the mid 90's on linux. What a pain it was back then ! BSD. full blown beast mode.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

Discuss better

[@adamludwick9931]

Now there is a trip down memory lane. My blood pressure was very sympathetic

[@meggysaurusrex]

Shheeeh …and I thought CLI on my Commodore Amiga was a pain in the arse! Soft spot for NIX systems though

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@superangrybrit]

PDP-11 is a beauty. 😍

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@myhappyabby]

Actually , not to get technical , but BSD is a version of the original code which had it's debut in 1978 , 10 years after the authentic original kernel by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie was done in 1969. I had a copy of the original C manual and the Lyon's Text with me through the 90s. That being said all the respect, 2.11BSD on an actual PDP11 is a pain I don't relish.

[@TheEvertw]

Awesome job, Dave!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@VenturiLife]

This is cool.. I remember compiling kernels back in the day. BSD, Slackware, etc. Microsoft had a few UNIX versions themselves including Xenix (licensed by Microsoft from AT&T), and SCO UNIX (which owned the UNIX brand at one point).

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@ran2wild370]

Oh holly crap! I thought configuring FreeBSD kernel was quite a magic back in early 2000s. But this.. OMG.

[@robertthomas5906]

This is not free bsd. I remember when the first freebsd came out in the 1980s. I put it on I think it was 55 1.44 mb floppies. Then I had to compile it for my machine and get X11R3 and compile/config that. I had an 80 mb full sized drive. What Dave has here is honest to goodness Unix. AT&T allowed Berkeley and some other universities like Buffalo to develop code. When I was at the University of Maryland back in the 1980s we had to just about sign in blood to get access to the source code. There was all kinds of nonsense around all of that. People were fired for copying code to a machine it wasn't supposed to be on. I managed to stay out of trouble.

[@weust2672]

@@robertthomas5906Since FreeBSD had its first release in late 1993, are you confusing with another BSD?

[@ran2wild370]

@@robertthomas5906 I was happily attending a kindergarten and an elementary school in 1980s :-)) Then suddenly got into tinkering with FreeBSd as an office internet router system in early-mid 2000s

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@wtmayhew]

I went through this process many times back in the 1980s, but usually with Vax 11/750 as the target system. We also had PDP-11s and we ran RT-11 on them. RT-11 isn’t multi user as UNIX is. The upside is that building an RT-11 kernel is easier for the only semi guru end user, just requiring answering lots of questions in an interactive dialog. It still took about an hour to build once you got to the end of the dialog.

[@DavesGarage]

That reminds me, I've got to do an RT_11 sysgen on the PDP-11/34!

[@wtmayhew]

@ Happy holidays! I really enjoyed the video. Thank you for using the correct term, I forgot it was called Sysgen.

[@MichaelSinz]

Bringing back memories that I had long suppressed 🙂 The PDP-11 was a wonderful architecture back then - and when they made the LSi-11 (the integrated CPU) that really changed things. But kernel builds (or sysgen for RT-11) was always so much work and so much time.... But with it you learned to really think about your changes and understand them since trying a change was very costly. Unlike today where people literally depend on near instant feedback for almost every character typed into their IDE.

[@MichaelSinz]

PS - Not saying that the new tools and features are bad - they definitely improve productivity but they have the biggest benefits when you use them with skill and careful thought.

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage8]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐n

[@guilherme5094]

👍And Merry Christmas!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage0]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.

[@EdwigHuisman]

Brings back the 'good ol' days' when nerds and geeks interfaced only with hardware 🙂🙂🙂🙂

[@meggysaurusrex]

GUI has left the chat!

[@Tele.gram_me_TheDavesGarage70]

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖-𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏