Contiki
This article is about the operating system. For other meanings, see Kon-Tiki (disambiguation).
Contiki is a free, Internet-enabled operating system for 8-bit computers and embedded microcontrollers, including nodes of a sensor network, developed by Adam Dunkels.
Contiki offers a simple event-driven operating system kernel with so-called protothreads, optional preemptive multiprogramming, interprocess communication via message passing through events, a dynamic process structure with support for loading and unloading programs, native TCP/IP support via the uIP TCP/IP stack, and a graphical user interface that can be used directly on a screen or as a virtual display via telnet or VNC. Memory consumption is only a few kilobytes and can be reduced to a few dozen bytes for extremely limited systems if needed. Meanwhile Contiki also supports IPv6 (uIPv6).
In terms of application programs, the system offers a web browser, a web server, a Telnet server and much more.
Because of its portability, this system has been and is being adapted to many computers, such as Atari 8-bit computers or Apple II. One of the most actively developed ports is the one to the C64, which even supports an Ethernet connection also developed by Adam Dunkels. PCs can run Contiki and there is even a port for smaller game consoles like the Game Boy.
C128 Porting with 80 characters
C64 implementation
Ports
The operating system is or will be executable on the following computers and microcontrollers:
- Apple II
- Commodore 64
- Commodore 128
- Commodore VC 20
- raw X11
- TI MSP430
- x86 (only the outdated version 1.0)
- Atari 8-bit
- Atari Portfolio
- Atari ST
- Atmel AVR
- game boy
- Game Boy Advance
- GP32
- Meshnetics ZigBit
- PC-6001
- Tandy CoCo
- PC engine
- Commodore PET
- Sharp Wizard
- Sony PlayStation
- Sega Dreamcast
- Sentilla JCreate
Questions and Answers
Q: What is Contiki?
A: Contiki is a small, open source free operating system.
Q: What was Contiki developed for?
A: Contiki was developed to be used in 8-bit computers and embedded systems.
Q: Does Contiki have a Graphical User Interface?
A: Yes, Contiki has a Graphical User Interface.
Q: How much RAM is needed for the full installation of Contiki?
A: The full installation of Contiki needs about 30 kilobytes of RAM.
Q: What is the origin of the name Contiki?
A: The name Contiki comes from Thor Heyerdahl's famous Kon-Tiki raft.
Q: Who developed the basic kernel and most of the core functions of Contiki?
A: Adam Dunkels developed the basic kernel and most of the core functions of Contiki at the Networked Embedded Systems group at the Swedish Institute of Computer Science.
Q: Is Contiki a paid operating system?
A: No, Contiki is a free and open source operating system.
