The topic Someone made use of Linux’s 68000 CPU compatibility by running it off an Atari… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
The Linux kernel is one of those weird things where you didn’t know what kind of hardware it supported until said support was removed. for example, I didn’t know that the kernel supported the i386 processor until Linux 7.1 removed it.
Fortunately, the Linux kernel does still support the Motorola 68000 range of processors, which means you can still run it on some really cool hardware. For instance, it’s entirely possible to get Linux installed on an Atari Jaguar.
As spotted by Hackaday, Cakehonolulu showed off how they managed to get Linux running off an Atari Jaguar over on their blog. Cakehonolulu starts by introducing the Atari Jaguar, a commercial disaster that was released in 1993. While the history of the console is one matter, Cakehonolulu noticed that the Jaguar’s 68000 CPU wasn’t as unsupported by modern software as you may think:
Interestingly enough, to this day, Linux has architecture code for the 68000-family of processors. 68040, 68030, 68010… and even the original base 68000 processor. All neatly structured under arch/m68k/.
As a refresher, the Motorola 68000 was a CISC processor with mixed 16-32 bit capabilities (It’s usually described as being 32-bit internally due to the register width length and 16-bit because the data bus was 16-bit, so 2-byte transfers at a time).
With a lot of tinkering and squeezing Linux onto the Jaguar hardware, Cakehonolulu managed to get the kernel up and running on the older console. It’s not exactly pretty (you can see a screenshot of it above), but it’s still a cool reminder as to why it’s important to keep these legacy drivers around. And if you have a spare Atari console in the attic, you, too, can get Linux running on it over on the project’s GitHub page.