Mac06 - POSIX for MacOS

DSITRI
Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller Information Technology Research Initiative (DSITRI), Oberhaching, Germany

Mac06 and Mac06-IDE
The POSIX compatible OS for MacOS

Do you want to

learn UNIX to prepare yourself for MacOS X?
have a very simple installation for a UNIX like system?
switch between MacOS (Finder) and a UNIX like system without rebooting?
run legacy software written for UNIX (C/C++ based on POSIX libraries) on a Mac?
have a low-end Mac (68k or PPC Performa) and want a simple solution to run UNIX?
have a Performa 5200 or 5300 on which neither MkLinux nor Linux68k will run?
do software development for embedded controllers (680x0, PowerPC, Z80, ARM, ...) on a Mac with familiar UNIX tools and POSIX libraries?

Then, Mac06 ("Mac oh six"), the POSIX library and system kernel running on top of MacOS can be a solution for you.

Features of Mac06

Direct installation - just download-expand&run
Fully Finder-integrated UNIX like file system (based on HFS)
Shared CPU - processes run in parallel with MacOS
Command line shell based on POSIX.2 standard (currently supports only a subset)
Rich set of standard commands like sh, ll, cd,cat,xd,echo,find,fgrep,tar,uuencode, ...
Extensive HTML based online manual
High performance software development package for ANSI/ISO-C (includes generic assembler for 680x0, PowerPC&AlitVec, Z80, ARM, and others) with flexible make tool (mk)
Full libc and #include headers (mostly POSIX.1 and some POSIX.4 standard compatible)
Communication package for TCP/IP (telnet, ftp, mail, ...)
Full POSIX terminal support (/dev/console, /dev/tty are mapped to terminal windows - have a look at a screen shot) including terminal control (tcsetattr() etc.)
Full "curses" terminal driver library

System requirements

System 7.0 or later (tested on 7.5.5 and 8.5)
Mac with at least 68020 and 8 MB of RAM (tested intensively on a PowerBook 165 and a Performa 5200)
approx. 15 MB hard disk space

Installation and Manual

First of all, look at the beginner's installation and operation manual (PDF/Acrobat Reader format - 40 pages):

Title (3k) - the title page
Contents (3k) - table of contents
Main Chapter (137k) - important!
Index (7k) - index

The full manual can be dowonloaded as a self extracting archive (documentation.pdf.hqx - 200k).
For installation,

download the packages you want to install from below. The Mac06-Basic package is always required, Mac06-Advanced is recommended and the others are optional depending on your needs.
Decompress the package and drag the installation file onto the Mac06-Installer (is part of the package - so you don't need to download it in addition). Create or select a destination folder. It will become the root (/) folder of Mac06. After completing installaton, you will find in this folder the Mac06 kernel application mac06 (or Mac06.68k). Double click this application to start Mac06.
Note, that there is a risk of bugs and malfunction of the software and no warranties against losses of any kind can be given.

Download Area

Package	Shareware Fee	Comments
Basic 1.0	free	required
Basic 1.0 -> 1.0.1 updater	free	required
Advanced 1.0	$10	recommended for using additional functions
Advanced 1.0 -> 1.0.1 updater	free	recommended
Development 1.0	$20	recommended for making applications (not working completely)
Development 1.0 -> 1.0.1 updater	free	recommended
Communication 1.0	$20	recommended for FTP, Telnet etc.
Installer	free	if Mac06-Installer is not part of the package you want to install

If you have problems downloading with messages like "unexpected end of file" or "corrupt archive", please try to download again. The reason seems to be a bug in the HTTP server that sometimes (heavy load situations?) sends incomplete files without notice.
The archives are created by Compact Pro. The reason is that StuffIt 4.x and 5.x are not compatible and some older Macs can't run StuffIt 5.x and newer ones can't run version 4.x. But all versions of StuffIt can decode Compact Pro archives.

Other useful stuff for Mac06

Package	Latest Version	Useful for
Mac06-Installer (48k)	13 May 00	if Mac06-Installer is not part of the package you want to install
Earlier versions of Mac06: Mac06-Donation	0.99	learning how Mac06 evolved
Third Party Applications		software ported to Mac06
SoftwareFPU		to run 68881 software on a Mac (680x0, PowerPC) without 68881
Altivec Emulator		to emulate the new PowerPC G4 Altivec vector instructions
MI/X (X-Server)	21 Oct 98	to use the Mac as a X Window display
MacsBug	6.5.4a6	including dcmds for AltiVec
AppWatcher Lite		to view MacOS processes
Stuffit Expander		to uncompress packages

Shareware Fee

How to pay your shareware of Mac06 is described in the documentation - it is easily done through kagi. Some of the third party packages mentioned in the Download area are also Shareware. Please refer to the specific publications.

Frequently asked questions

Thank you very much for supporting Mac06.

	©hns@dsitri.de - ideas.knowledge.DSITRI-www.dsitri.de
since 27 Aug 1998	Last modification: 01 May 2003