Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site amiga.amiga.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!nsc!pyramid!amiga!neil
From: neil@amiga.UUCP (Neil Katin)
Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga
Subject: Re: Amiga MMU question
Message-ID: <141@amiga.amiga.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 27-Oct-85 15:07:26 EST
Article-I.D.: amiga.141
Posted: Sun Oct 27 15:07:26 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 29-Oct-85 00:35:27 EST
References: <192@ucdavis.UUCP>
Reply-To: neil@amiga.UUCP (Neil Katin)
Distribution: net
Organization: Commodore-Amiga Inc., 983 University Ave #D, Los Gatos CA 95030
Lines: 22

In article <192@ucdavis.UUCP> u557593877ea@ucdavis.UUCP (Bruce K. Martin) writes:
>  A question for the Amiga experts.  I don't pretend to be an expert on the
>subject, but doesn't a multitasking enviroment need some sort of memory
>protection to keep processes from clobering each other.  It is my understanding
>that the Amiga does not have an MMU.  So this protection must be in software.
>How does this work, and how reliable is it.  Could I simply write a program
>to march through memory and write over all other processes.
>  Any answers would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance...
>
>				Bruce Martin


Multitasking does NOT require an MMU.  Processes are allocated separate
places in memory, and then are timesliced (the same way one would if one
did have an mmu...).  There is no protection between different processes.
One could write a program that trashes memory, and therefore the system
(hence the infamous "GURU MEDITATION...").

Correctly written programs run without any problems, however.

	Neil Katin
	Commodore-Amiga Inc.