Xv6

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xv6 is a modern reimplementation of Sixth Edition Unix in ANSI C for multiprocessor x86 and RISC-V systems. It was created for educational purposes in MIT's Operating System Engineering course in 2006.

Purpose

MIT's Operating System Engineering course formerly used the original V6 source code. xv6 was created as a modern replacement, because PDP-11 machines are not widely available and the original operating system was written in archaic pre-ANSI C. Unlike Linux or BSD, xv6 is simple enough to cover in a semester, yet still contains the important concepts and organization of Unix.

Self-documentation

One feature of the Makefile for xv6 is the option to produce a PDF of the entire source code listing in a readable format. The entire printout is only 99 pages, including cross references. This is reminiscent of the original V6 source code, which was published in a similar form in Lions' Commentary on UNIX 6th Edition, with Source Code.

Educational use

xv6 has been used in operating systems courses at many universities, including:

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