First Doom, now Linux: an unnamed high school student runs Linux OS in a PDF doc in Google Chrome so what’s next?
Posted by:
John Harrison
A high school student has showcased impressive coding skills by creating LinuxPDF, allowing a lightweight Linux distribution to run within a PDF document using Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers. By utilizing a modified version of TinyEMU, a RISC-V emulator, LinuxPDF operates within Chrome’s PDF viewer, offering a text-based Linux environment with a virtual keyboard interface. Despite its innovation, the system’s performance is limited due to Chrome’s disabled Just-in-Time (JIT) compiler, leading to boot times of 30 to 60 seconds. While LinuxPDF is more of a technical experiment than a practical operating system, it serves as a unique demonstration of creativity in the coding realm. Interested users can access and explore the source code on GitHub for further experimentation.
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