> There are some real ports of Linux for "limited" architectures, like uClinux (supporting few 32-bit micros, including some MMU-less ones) and ELKS (for 16-bit x86 CPUs).
But is it actually Linux, or something that was based on Linux but is now so divergent as to be its own kind of thing?
"Oh, it's Linux. It doesn't have most of the APIs, including the ones 99+% of the application software depends on, most of the code is gone, what's left has been greatly re-written, and it will never contribute code back into the mainline kernel."
It's the Ship of Theseus: "This is the original ship. Every plank has been replaced at least once, the sails are all new, and all of the rope was replaced last month."
Comments
> There are some real ports of Linux for "limited" architectures, like uClinux (supporting few 32-bit micros, including some MMU-less ones) and ELKS (for 16-bit x86 CPUs).
But is it actually Linux, or something that was based on Linux but is now so divergent as to be its own kind of thing?
"Oh, it's Linux. It doesn't have most of the APIs, including the ones 99+% of the application software depends on, most of the code is gone, what's left has been greatly re-written, and it will never contribute code back into the mainline kernel."
It's the Ship of Theseus: "This is the original ship. Every plank has been replaced at least once, the sails are all new, and all of the rope was replaced last month."