Web brower for CP/M 68K?

[Plasmo]

On comp.os.cpm someone revived an old post about web brower for CP/M.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.os.cpm/292UdtpnAWc
While that's a crazy idea for CP/M-80/86, I wonder if that's a do-able for CP/M68K? Being new to CP/M and not much of a software programmer, I can only ask questions: How much memory does web-brower need? My CP/M68K SBC only have 2 serial ports and a realtime clock, what other hardware does a web brower really needs?

 

[durgadas311]

Interesting problem. Certainly, the address space of the 680x0 is much more conducive to such things. I suspect you could port something like "w3m" or "lynx" and come up with a text-based browser. But I suspect trying to make something GUI using GSX will be a lot more work. So much of the Web's content is graphical in nature, it becomes an issue if you only use a text interface. But the other issue is where does your network connection come from? In addition to HTTP, I think you're going to need TCP/IP and/or UDP ported. I assume DRI provided CP/NET for CP/M-68K, but that is not TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP. I think this project could end up snow-balling quite easily.

But, it would be very cool to see someone "Googling" on a CP/M machine. ...without using the CP/M machine as a "dumb terminal" piped to "w3m" on a Linux box.

 

[Plasmo]

I've not come across CP/NET in my searches for CP/M68K software. Nevertheless, adding Ethernet capability is cheap and there is room on board for it. A SPI connected ENC28J60 Ethernet module takes very little space and is about $3. I'm more concerned about video controller. A text VGA display is do-able, but color graphical VGA seems out of reach without very significant redesign and cost increase.

Like you said, it is an interesting problem worthy of time & efforts.

 

[krebizfan]

The stripped down release of CAB lists its requirement as a 1 MB Atari ST. I guess one could build GEM on CP/M-68K as was originally planned and add all the other drivers needed to make a browser work. Portable TOS seems to be a more viable path though than trying to get CP/M-68K into shape.

 

[durgadas311]

I always assumed CP/NET became integrated into their newer OSes, but it appears that it may have died with CP/M 2.2. Seems a strange "decision". Still, CP/NET wouldn't particularly help in this case (since it didn't use any modern protocols) but could have added some useful functionality (I was thinking of CP/NET over Ethernet, not HTTP over CP/NET).