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OMG a webserver runnning on a 8088!

A web server is pretty easy .. I've run one on a PCjr. It's just bytes in and out over sockets.

A web browser is a much harder trick.
 
Yeah, but a PCjr isin't running on an 8088 is it? C'mon man! Its a server on an 8088!! I want to scream at my server and its a 1.8 GHz. They guy has a web server running on a 8-bit CPU!

-V
 
vlad wrote:

> Yeah, but a PCjr isin't running on an 8088 is it?
> C'mon man! Its a server on an 8088!! I want to scream
> at my server and its a 1.8 GHz. They guy has a web
> server running on a 8-bit CPU!

A PCJnr is either an 8086 or 8088 (can't remember which) based machine & aren't 8086 based machines less powerful.

If memory serves me correctly, someone knocked up one of these using an 8bit machine in CP/M!

CP/M User.
 
I had mistaken the PCjr for something else that had a 80286. I remember now.
But still, isin't that pretty good?
 
vlad wrote:

> I had mistaken the PCjr for something else that had a
> 80286. I remember now.

> But still, isin't that pretty good?

Yeah, I reckon that's pretty good considerning you'd need the
right programs for it to work.

The internet is such a huge place & people almost take a fast
computer is required for this to be done. Yet here we are
talking about an 8088 which can do the same thing - with what?
640K of memory!

CP/M User.
 
I'm quite sure that 8088 based web server does not have any server scripting, advanced logging or other features you may expect from a full-blown web server (like your 1.8 GHz machine is supposed to have).

I know someone who programmed a web server in PostScript, and thus loaded it onto a HP LaserJet 4 (or similar) printer. Yes, it has a network interface and yes it worked, but maybe not very fast.
 
A PCjr is definitely 8088 based, and it's quite a limited machine compared to a PC or an XT even. There are no standard expansion slots. You can not add memory past 128K without using a device driver. Adding a second diskette drive requires a 3rd party controller or a modification to the existing controller. Adding a hard disk is nearly impossible. And then getting networking on the same machine is yet another problem ..

I think that by most rational definitions the 8088 and 8086 are 16 bit machines. The 8086 has a 16 bit path to memory, which makes it quite a bit faster than the 8088 which only has an 8 bit path to memory. But as far as math goes, both work on 16 bit quantities.

No, none of these older machines are going to have the advanced features. They do logging and some access control, and even some CGI like things, but you aren't going to do virtual hosting on one. :)

What's more amazing is when somebody stuffs a web server onto a true 8-bitter, like a C64. There have been a few of those in the past. Although technically it is a web server, it is very very limited ... almost to the point of stretching the truth. But still, stuffing any implemention TCP/IP and an HTTP server (with some data) into a C64 is a neat trick. An 8088 based machine has potentially 10x the memory to work with.
 
I believe Adam Dunkels has considered a 8-bit adapted scripting language for the Contiki web server. I'm not sure if it does anything yet, though.
 
carlsson wrote:

> I know someone who programmed a web server in
> PostScript, and thus loaded it onto a HP LaserJet 4
> (or similar) printer. Yes, it has a network interface
> and yes it worked, but maybe not very fast.

Postscript I believe has it's connections with Forth. I'd
reckon if it was possible to write a proper web server in
Forth, then just about anything's possible! Perhaps not?!?

CP/M User.
 
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