Summary
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Linux retains support for m68k (Motorola 68000), allowing OS builds for consoles such as the Atari Jaguar.
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With a few tweaks, Linux can boot on an Atari Jaguar, although setup is a bit complicated.
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Maintaining legacy drivers is important – the instructions and code are on GitHub if you want to try them yourself.
The Linux kernel is one of those weird things where you didn’t know what kind of hardware it supported until that support was removed. For example, I didn’t know. the kernel supported the i386 processor until Linux 7.1 removed it.
Fortunately, the Linux kernel does It still supports the Motorola 68000 range of processors, meaning you can still run it on some really cool hardware. For example, it is entirely possible to install Linux on an Atari Jaguar.
Getting Linux on the Atari Jaguar is surprisingly possible
And all thanks to legacy compatibility.
How he saw it HackadayCakehonolulu showed how they got Linux running on an Atari Jaguar in your blog. Cakehonolulu begins by introducing the Atari Jaguar, a commercial disaster that launched in 1993. While the history of the console is an issue, Cakehonolulu noted that the Jaguar’s 68000 CPU was not as compatible with modern software as one might think:
Interestingly, to this day, Linux has architectural code for the 68000 family of processors. 68040, 68030, 68010… and even the original 68000 base processor. All carefully structured under arch/m68k/.
As a refresher, the Motorola 68000 was a CISC processor with mixed 16- to 32-bit capabilities (usually described as 32-bit internally due to the length of the register width and 16-bit because the data bus was 16-bit, so 2 bytes are transferred at a time).
With a lot of tinkering and integrating Linux into the Jaguar hardware, Cakehonolulu got the kernel up and running on the older console. It’s not exactly pretty (you can see a screenshot above), but it’s still a good reminder of why it’s important to maintain these legacy drivers. And if you have a spare Atari console in the attic, you can also run Linux on the project console. GitHub page.
