Linux 7.2 updates SEGA Dreamcast drivers 25 years after first Linux builds
Linux 7.2-rc3 includes several fixes for the SEGA Dreamcast, a console that launched in Japan in November 1998. The changes cover its Maple keyboard, mouse and controller drivers. One patch fixes a kernel crash caused by the mouse driver accessing data that had not been assigned.
The related input drivers now assign their data before registering the device with the kernel. This prevents another process from opening the device before the driver is ready. The mouse bug had been present since a kernel change introduced in 2017.
Source: Freedesktop
Linux Dreamcast started over two decades ago
The Dreamcast can still run current Linux kernels because its Hitachi SH-4 processor belongs to the SuperH architecture supported by Linux. The kernel also contains drivers for the console’s Maple peripheral bus, GD-ROM drive and other hardware. These drivers are only included when someone builds a kernel specifically for the Dreamcast.
Linux development for the Dreamcast began around 2000, while the console was still being sold. Complete distributions appeared in 2001 using Linux 2.4 and Debian-based software. Users normally booted the system from a burned CD-R and connected a keyboard, mouse and VGA adapter to use the console as a small computer.
Windows CE on Dreamcast
Dreamcast Linux was mainly used for development, hardware experiments and networking projects. Some users turned the console into a basic server or router using its Broadband Adapter. The Dreamcast only has 16MB of main memory, so most builds relied on lightweight software and ran directly from memory.
The Dreamcast also had optional Windows CE support, but the console did not run Windows as its main operating system. Developers could include a small Windows CE runtime with individual games to make PC ports easier. Titles such as Sega Rally 2 displayed a “Powered by Microsoft Windows CE” screen, while most Dreamcast games used Sega’s native development tools instead.
It worked and shipped in commercial games, but most developers chose Sega’s native tools, and the platform’s short commercial life ended further development.
Source: Phoronix
