Mastodon Linux

Mastodon linux

Company / developer	David Parsons
OS family	Unix-like
Working state	old, but new release is being planned
Source model	Free and open source software
Initial release	?
Latest stable release	INST0065/BETA0066 / May 2002
Available language(s)	English
Update method	source code
Package manager	none
Supported platforms	IA-32
Kernel type	Monolithic (Linux)
Userland	Mainly BSD
Default user interface	CLI
License	Mainly the GNU GPL and permissive BSD type licenses.
Official website	www.mastodon.biz

The Mastodon Linux distribution differs from most Linux distributions in that it has replaced much of the GNU userland with corresponding tools from FreeBSD. The distribution still uses and maintains the old Linux libc rather than using GNU libc (glibc). This also means that the executable format is a.out rather than ELF. The creator of the distribution currently attempts to build a new release of this BSD/Linux distribution, but an issue raised is that newer kernels are more locked-in to the GNU userland. Also a package management tool is planned. Potentially, classic BSD- or CDDL-licensed UNIX tools, including a package management system, available for Linux in the Heirloom project could be used for a new Mastodon release. Possibly, also the aging Linux libc could be replaced by the BSD-licensed bionic libc.

See also

Sta.li: the statically linked linux distribution