| MCC Interim Linux | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Owen Le Blanc |
| OS family | Linux (Unix-like) |
| Working state | Historic |
| Source model | Open source |
| Initial release | February 1992 |
| Latest release | 2.0+ / 4 November 1996 |
| Available in | Various |
| Update method | None (manual) |
| Package manager | None |
| Supported platforms | Intel 386 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
| Userland | GNU |
| Default user interface | Command line interface |
| License | Various |
MCC Interim Linux is aLinux distribution first released in February 1992 by Owen Le Blanc of the Manchester Computing Centre (MCC), part of theUniversity of Manchester. It was the first Linux distribution created for computer users who were not Unix experts[1] and featured amenu-driveninstaller that installed both the kernel and a set of end-user and programming tools.
The MCC first made Linux available byanonymous FTP in November 1991.[2] Le Blanc's irritations with his early experiments with Linux, such as the lack of a workingfdisk (he would later write one), the need to use multiple FTP repositories to acquire all the essential software, and library version problems, inspired the creation of this distribution.[3]
Prior to its first release, the closest approximation to a Linux distribution had been Torvalds' "Boot-Root"floppy disk images from late 1991. These were two 5¼" diskette images containing theLinux kernel and the minimum tools required to get started. These tools were so minimal that booting from a hard drive required editing itsmaster boot record with ahex editor.[4]
The first release of MCC Interim Linux was based on Linux 0.12 and made use ofTheodore Ts'o'sramdisk code to copy a small root image to memory, freeing the floppy drive for additional utilities diskettes.[2]
He also stated his distributions were "unofficial experiments", describing the goals of his releases as being:
Indeed, no attempt was ever made to distribute it with a wide range of software or even theX386 windowing system.
Soon after the first release came other distributions such as TAMU, created by individuals atTexas A&M University, Martin Junius's MJ[citation needed],Softlanding Linux System and H J Lu'sLinux Base System. These in turn were quickly superseded bySlackware andDebian, the oldest surviving distributions, as well asRed Hat Linux andSUSE Linux.
The 1.0 distribution of MCC Interim pointed out that Debian was "five times the size of MCC, and quite comprehensive",[2] and the final distribution encouraged users to switch to Debian by providing transitional support.[5]
As discussed in an email dated 23 April 1992, the boot and utilities disk pair included:[3]
An optional pair of disks containedgcc andg++ 2.1,kermit and shoelace.
Released on 14 April 1993.[6] Added to version 0.95c+ were bison, flex,gdb, gprof,groff, gzip[7] andman.[8]
Released on 26 April 1993.[9] Added to version 0.99.p8 wereemacs and info.[10]
Added to version 0.99.p8+ wereelm,[11] lp,mail, progman, timezone and words[12]
