> What is interesting about Oberon is that it is a complete (i.e. OS + compiler + HW) ... the only system currently in existence that fullfills that promise.
Well, Unix including the C programming language were essentially implemented by two guys (Thompson und Ritchie); at least in the beginning Unix was small enough to "be understood in its entirety by a single human being within one lifetime". The same applies to Linux (implemented by only one guy in the beginning). Also the Oberon System (written by Wirth and Gutknecht) became bigger and more complex during the years it was used at ETH; barely anyone has full detail knowledge of e.g. the whole Oberon System V4. We can assume that if the Oberon System had been more successful, it would have shared the fate of original Unix and Linux, and became too big to be understood in its entierty by a single person.
You are not expected to understand this.That even works with much smaller code bases; I remember staring at half a page of image processing code for a week.
I'm attempting one at github.com/civboot/fngi. Let me just say... It ain't easy, and Oberon is a huge inspiration for what's possible.
Re:Modula-2 and Oberon (2007) [pdf]
by 082349872349872 on Sunday July 31, 2022 @06:29PM
(#32299476)
Exactly. ... and not just within one lifetime — within a few years!
What is interesting about Oberon is that it is a complete (i.e. OS + compiler + HW) usable system that can be understood in its entirety by a single human being within one lifetime.
As far as I know it's also the only system currently in existence that fullfills that promise.
Just the language part of Oberon is not optimal for running on the regular personal computer systems we used or are currently using. But AFAIK that was never its purpose either.