Fuzix 0.4 brings cleaner binaries, easier images and a nudge toward modular networking

What’s new

Fuzix’s 0.4 release is out and it’s all about tidying up the messy corners while keeping the tiny-kernel spirit intact. It has been reported that the core kernel remains largely the same, but a raft of bug fixes and interface tweaks have landed. Executable formats were a big focus: 8080, 8085 and Z80 binaries are now unified so older 8080 programs can run directly on the other CPUs, and the 68HC11/6803 pair share a syscall ABI so cross-running is smoother. The 32‑bit side drops its ad-hoc Linux binfmt trick and moves to a modified a.out layout to handle relocations — small change, but one that should pay dividends for stability.

Build, tooling and networking

Builds have been made friendlier where possible. A new "make diskimage" target assembles a bootable system in one step instead of forcing builders to play matchmaker with kernels, filesystems and boot blocks. Toolchains still bite — many targets rely on obscure or pinned releases — so expect some fiddling. It has been reported that the networking layer was completely reworked to be more modular, with an eye toward running in a separate address space on 8‑bit machines; ambitious, and very useful if it lands fully functional.

Ports, processors and the retro scene

This release tidies up community naming and hardware support. The N8VEM project has rebranded as “Retrobrew,” and rc2014 vs rcbus nomenclature has been clarified so that bus-standard devices and product lines aren’t mixed up. Ports reflect a grab-bag of classic silicon: 6303/6803 support via CC68, 65C02/65C816 via cc65 (65C816 treated as a 65C02 superset), 6809 with gcc and lwtools (watch older lwtools if you hit lwasm segfaults), and 68k-family improvements up to 68EC020. Floating point generally isn’t supported across these retro toolchains — patchwork soft-fp would be required to change that.

Fuzix remains a niche delight: part OS engineering, part community restoration project. Want the sources? The 0.4 tag and licenses are on the project’s GitHub; install images and per-platform README files live in the kernel platform directories. If you like elbow grease and the warm glow of blinking LEDs, this update gives you fewer gotchas and a cleaner path to booting that ancient board of yours.

Sources: fuzix.org, Hacker News