So you’ve taken an interest in Monkey.
Terrific. If you’d like to bypass all the mumbo-jumbo and get
straight to installing Monkey on your machine then I suggest you jump ahead
to the install page. If you’d like to
learn a little bit about Monkey then stick around and read on. In this
section I briefly describe:
- what Monkey is;
- Monkey pro’s and con’s;
- Monkey’s history;
- the file systems compatible with Monkey;
- Monkey’s file structure; and
- the files essential for operating Monkey.
Monkey Described
Monkey Linux is a small Executable and Linking Format
(ELF) distribution based on Linux kernel 2.0.30 and Libc5. The fact that it uses the
UMSDOS file system makes it an ideal semi-complete distribution for GNU/Linux
newbies, because no knowledge of (re)partitioning hard drives
is required for installation. Monkey lives happily in its own folder within
MS-DOS or Windows 3.x/9x/Me. Plus, it’s the same Gnu/Linux that works in all of the
major distributions, so making the switch to a different distribution won’t be a
difficult adjustment. With Monkey, machines considered to be obsolete (see minimum system requirements) are given added value and can be
put to both practical and educational use.
The archived base distribution is less than 7MB in size and
fits in five floppies. After installation, Monkey takes up less than 30MB of
hard drive space. It doesn’t stop there. A few useful software packages have
been precompiled for Monkey and are ready for installation at your disposal. All
of these files are listed and ready for download in the
download section.
To install, or not to install...
Three reasons to use Monkey Linux version 06:
- Put that obsolete hardware back to use. Monkey runs on 4Mb of RAM
and fits in 30Mb of disk space, both of which were considered
plenty back in the early 90’s.
- It’s a terrific platform for learning how to navigate the Linux
file system and utilize many GNU utilities.
- It’s non-committal. It works on top of DOS/Windows so there’s no
need to (re)partition the hard drive. If you don’t like it just
delete it like any other file.
Three reasons to avoid Monkey Linux version 06:
- As is, it has enough to scrape by, but it will not turn your
computer into a work horse. Unless, of course, you’re willing to
put in the time to compile and install software.
- It’s an obscure mini-distribution so there is hardly any support.
- It’s based on an old kernel so it doesn’t support newer hardware
technologies, such as USB.
Here’s my outlook on the situation. If you’ve got your hands on an
old machine and you’re looking to install a distribution then give Monkey
Linux 06 a whirl. Look into installing Mu Linux, Loop Linux, or Monkey
Linux 1.0 delta as well. If you’ve got a more recent computer system with
at least 8Mb Ram, and you’re looking for an introductory Linux mini-distribution that fits in 150Mb to 500Mb of disk space, then try out
Peanut Linux and/or Dragon Linux.
Once Upon a Monkey
In 1996, while a student in the Czech Republic,
Milan Kerslager, took upon the task of creating a small distribution of
GNU/Linux for his friends.
When I drink some beer near our college I said, “MiniLinux?
That’s trivial.” This is a BIG mistake as I think now.
A year later he released Monkey Linux 06, a mini-distribution of GNU/Linux that
installs directly onto an existing DOS partition (FAT 12/16/32 or VFAT).
There it lived happily ever after in it’s very own DOS folder (or Windows
3.x/9x/Me folder) that occupied a mere 30 MB of disk space. Open Milan’s
changes.txt
document to view a time line of Monkey’s development.
My guess is that Kerslager trimmed down and modified Slackware version 3.1. Possibly even Slackware version 3.3. The proof is in the installation process and the configuration files. In fact, Patrick Volkerding’s name shows up in a few of the configuration files. For those who don’t know, Volkerding, created Slackware, which was one of the first GNU/Linux distributions. And now you know...baby, baby!
Compatible File Systems
“How can Monkey operate on top of DOS?” you
ask. By using the UMSDOS file system to operate, that’s how. This
allows Monkey to run on DOS (or Windows 3.x/9x/Me) and eliminates the need to
(re)partition the hard drive. With Monkey, you don’t have to know
anything about fdisk or EXT2 to have a fully functional GNU/Linux on your
machine. The following table lists the file systems that Monkey can cooperate
with.
| File System |
Description |
| DOS |
DOS FAT12/16/32 file systems |
| EXT2 |
native GNU/Linux file system |
| ISO9960 |
CD-ROM file system |
| MINIX |
older Unix-clone file system (currently
for diskettes) |
| NCPFS |
Novell file system for shared volumes |
| NFS |
Sun Microsystems Network File System |
| UMSDOS |
Root file system for Linux on DOS FAT |
| SMBFS |
MS Windows network file system (only
over TCP/IP) |
| VFAT |
MS extension of DOS FAT for long file names |
|
File Structure
After installing Monkey Linux a new folder labeled
“Linux” will be on the hard drive. (I’ve assumed that Monkey
is installed in the c:\ drive. If this isn't so then replace
c:\ with the drive letter that it’s installed on.) The
Linux folder and it’s contents form Monkey’s file structure. View the
ls-r.txt
document for a detailed description of all of the files that make Monkey. The table
that follows describes all of the directories contained within the Linux directory.
| Directory |
Description |
/linux |
Pseudo-root. The top directory that contains all other Monkey Linux directories. |
/bin |
Small executable programs (binaries) such as shell commands. |
/cdrom |
Mount point used to access contents of CD-ROM device. |
/dev |
Files that allow programs and device drivers to communicate. |
/etc |
System configuration files. |
/home |
User specific directories, files, and option settings. |
/lib |
System libraries. Files shared by programs and GNU/Linux. |
/mnt |
Generic mount point. Device directory. |
/proc |
“Virtual” files containing system information. |
/root |
Super User’s home directory. |
/sbin |
Small executable programs (binaries). |
/tmp |
System-wide temporary file or work file directory. |
/usr |
User directory containing directories such as /usr/bin (holds programs related to users). |
/var |
Place for files that vary a lot. |
|
/DOS |
Virtual directory allowing Monkey to access the DOS file structure. Only visible when in Monkey. |
/install |
Directory created by Monkey Super User for installing software packages. |
|
Essential Files
Certain files are needed in order to load Monkey; as
well as, make it possible for DOS and Monkey to co-exist and communicate.
They are located in the Linux (pseudo-root) directory. The following is a
table that lists and describes these files.
| File Name |
Description |
linux.bat |
DOS batch file that initiates the Monkey boot process. |
loadlin.exe |
Loads the compressed Linux kernel into the UMSDOS file system. |
3mide.030 |
Compressed Linux kernel image. |
--linux-.--- |
Translates between the extended capabilities of UMSDOS (long files names and ownership) and the limitation of the DOS file system. This file is in every Monkey directory, but is invisible to Monkey. |
help |
A help file, provided by Monkey’s creator, accessible by typing ‘help’ at a Monkey prompt. |
|
swap.{_e |
Swap file (virtual memory) created by Monkey
during installation if the system has 32MB of RAM, or less. This file is invisible to Monkey. |
|
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