95ab1ad588
Working in "blk/" folder from a modern system is harder than it should be. Moving blocks around is a bit awkward, grepping is a bit less convenient than it could be, git blame has troubles following, etc. In this commit, we modify blkpack and blkunpack to work with single text files with blocks being separated by a special markup. I think this will make the code significantly more convenient to work into.
81 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
81 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
# Collapse OS
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*Bootstrap post-collapse technology*
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Collapse OS is a Forth operating system and a collection of tools and
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documentation with a single purpose: preserve the ability to program micro-
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controllers through civilizational collapse.
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It it designed to:
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1. Run on minimal and improvised machines.
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2. Interface through improvised means (serial, keyboard, display).
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3. Edit text files.
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4. Compile assembler source files for a wide range of MCUs and CPUs.
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5. Read and write from a wide range of storage devices.
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6. Assemble itself and deploy to another machine.
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Additionally, the goal of this project is to be as self-contained as possible.
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With a copy of this project, a capable and creative person should be able to
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manage to build and install Collapse OS without external resources (i.e.
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internet) on a machine of her design, built from scavenged parts with low-tech
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tools.
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## Getting started
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Documentation is in text files in `doc/`. Begin with `intro.txt`.
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Collapse OS can run on any POSIX platform and builds easily.
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See `/cvm/README.md` for instructions.
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Alternatively, there's also [Michael Schierl's JS Collapse OS emulator][jsemul]
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which is awesome and allows you to run Collapse OS from your browser, but it
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isn't always up to date. The "Javascript Forth" version is especially awesome:
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it's not a z80 emulator, but a *javascript port of Collapse OS*!
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## Organisation of this repository
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* `blk.fs`: Collapse OS filesystem's content. See below.
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* `cvm`: A C implementation of Collapse OS, allowing it to run natively on any
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POSIX platform.
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* `doc`: Documentation.
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* `arch`: collection of makefiles that assemble Collapse OS on different
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machines.
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* `tools`: Tools for working with Collapse OS from "modern" environments. For
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example, tools for facilitating data upload to a Collapse OS machine
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through a serial port.
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* `emul`: Tools for running Collapse OS in an emulated environment.
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* `tests`: Automated test suite for the whole project.
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## blk.fs
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This file is a big text file containing the "real deal", that is, the contents
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of Collapse OS' filesystem. That filesystem contains everything that a
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post-collapse computer would manage, that is, all Forth and assembler source
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code for the tools it needs to fulfill its goals.
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The Collapse OS filesystem is a simple sequence of 1024 bytes blocks. That is
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not very workable in the text editor of a modern system. `blk.fs` represents an
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"unpacked" view of that block system. Each block (16 lines max per block, 64
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chars max per line) begins with a marker indicating the block number of the
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contents that follow.
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Blocks must be in ascending order.
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That file can be "packed" to a real blkfs with `/tools/blkpack`. A real blkfs
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can be "unpacked" to its text file form with `/tools/blkunpack`.
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## Status
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The project unfinished but is progressing well! See [Collapse OS' website][web]
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for more information.
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## Looking for the assembler version?
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The Forth-based Collapse OS is the second incarnation of the concept. The first
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one was entirely written in z80 assembly. If you're interested in that
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incarnation, checkout the `z80asm` branch.
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[web]: https://collapseos.org
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[jsemul]: https://schierlm.github.io/CollapseOS-Web-Emulator/
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