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Linux could not run on 8088 - the minimum was 386. If you are thinking about ELKS, it's not Linux. There were other unices (or similar) capable of running on 8088 (e.g. QNX), but these were very commercial and certainly not aimed at home computer users.

Radovan Garabík
– Radovan Garabík

2017-08-25 12:43:54 +00:00
Commented Aug 25, 2017 at 12:43
@RadovanGarabík you are entirely correct. I'd misremembered that early Linux didn't require 386 and above. I have edited the post.

abligh
– abligh

2017-08-25 15:04:39 +00:00
Commented Aug 25, 2017 at 15:04
Any decent multitasking OS needs a CPU capable of memory protection. Otherwise fuggedaboutit...

Harper - Reinstate Monica
– Harper - Reinstate Monica

2017-08-27 21:06:45 +00:00
Commented Aug 27, 2017 at 21:06
6

@Harper I pretty much disagree - Even modern real-time multi-tasking systems (RTOS) can very well multi-task without memory protection. Memory protection is just some safety net against misbehaving applications.

tofro
– tofro

2017-08-27 22:26:08 +00:00
Commented Aug 27, 2017 at 22:26
2

The 8088 was not an 8-bit CPU. It could perform 16-bit arithmetic natively, so it should be described as a 16-bit CPU, regardless of the width of the external data bus.

Chromatix
– Chromatix

2020-01-19 05:01:26 +00:00
Commented Jan 19, 2020 at 5:01

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