Installing LFS or Minix as a Desktop OS?

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Hey guys,

Been checking out Minix for a while and am looking for a new challenge with computers. I was thinking about giving LFS on one of my main Desktops a go but than I got to thinking how hard would it be to compile Linux apps on Minix? What kinda of compatibility does Minix have to Linux? Can I compile Linux apps on Minix without too much trouble? Would I have to rewrite massive amounts of code or just tweak some stuff to get source code from Linux programs to compile under Minix?

Which one would make a better project, installing LFS or Minix and trying to "port" a few programs from Linux over? Also my programming knowledge is pretty bad, so I probably couldn't do much in terms of "porting" outside of change a few lines of code.

System in question is currently running Arch Linux and has these specs,

AMD Phenom II x4 970
M4A87TD/USB 3 Motherboard
Geforce GTX 770
1 TB Hard Drive
Corsair 750 Watt PSU

Minix capabilities are much less that those of Linux, and any of the BSD Variants. Minix is essentially Tannenbaum's Hobby OS at this point, it doesn't have the serious development behind it as Linux or BSD.

I would assume that in order to really know how to port any Linux SC over to Minix, you would have to know Linux system calls and function, as well as those of Minix, and recode what is differant. As you know, Linux uses a modular monolithic kernel, and Minix is a Microkernel not unlike Darwin/MacOS, or whatever HURD is currently trying to implement.

As far as an actual Desktop OS is concerned I would use niether Minix or LFS. You might have better luck with Gentoo.

One of the most concise and yet accurate descriptions yet. Also, IIR it never went to x64 so as a GP desktop it's really suited better to older hardware. Unless you are taking a course in OS's that uses T's textbook, for which the OS is a perfect match, by design.

To the OP: If you want a hobby and have another system, it can be very educational and satisfying to build a desktop around LFS. Just realize that you will be building it to that specific hardware and the set of libraries needed for whatever set of applications you intend to use. It's like a custom built OS that way, and any updates will likely require a fair amount of work and time. But it will be as efficient as you can make it, and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you built the entire thing.

I am going to do Gentoo on the Desktop and LFS in a virtual machine, thanks guys. I'll forget about Minix for the time being. If I like LFS, I'll do a bare metal install of it.