The project ELKS 0.8 (EmbedDable Linux Kernel Subset) has been published, developing a Linux-like operating system for 16-bit processors such as Intel 8086, 8088, 80188, 80186, 80286, and NEC V20/V3. The OS can be utilized on old IBM-PC XT/AT computers as well as on SBC/SOC/FPGA, recreating the IA16 architecture.
Since 1995, the project has been in development, starting out as a branch of the Linux kernel for devices lacking a memory control unit (MMU). The source texts can be found here, distributed under the GPLv2 license. The system is provided in the form of images for writing to a floppy disk or launching in the Qemu emulator.
Aside from the Linux kernel adapted for 16-bit systems, the project is also developing a series of standard utilities and command interpreters like Bash, text editors such as kilo and VI, and a graphic environment based on the X-server nano-x.
There are two options for network stacks offered – the standard TCP/IP from the Linux kernel and the KTCP stack that operates in user space. The system supports Ethernet adapters compatible with NE2K and SMC, and communication channels can be created through serial ports using SLIP and CSLIP. File systems such as Minix V1, FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32 are supported. The boot process is configured through the /etc/rc.d/rc.sys script with the executable file format borrowed from the OS minix