[TUHS] Earliest Non-English UNIX?

Martin via TUHS tuhs at tuhs.org
Thu Jan 29 01:07:07 AEST 2026


Hello,
I would like to mention here not a UNIX per-se but heavily inspired by 
it, polish Operating System called CROOK written entirely in 
K-202/MERA-400 assembly language during 1970s and 1980s in Gdansk 
University of Technology: https://mera400.pl/Galeria
CROOK design was dictated by the same universal needs (multitasking, 
multiuser support, a hierarchical file system, etc) that shaped UNIX. It 
was build to work with both older peripherals (like tape readers) and 
newer devices produced for the MERA-400 by companies like Amepol. 
Development even influenced the design of the MX-16 processor upgrade 
for the MERA-400.

A major digital archaeology project successfully recovered CROOK and 
other software from original magnetic tapes, i.e:
https://hackaday.com/2017/03/03/raiders-of-the-lost-os-reclaiming-a-piece-of-polish-it-history/#more-245582 

Team led by Jakub Filipowicz ( https://github.com/jakubfi ) preserved 
this key piece of Polish IT history and actively documenting now all the 
archaeology efforts related with hardware/software restoration of MERA400:
https://www.youtube.com/@MERA400
The recovered disk images of CROOK-5 are now available for use in the 
EM400 emulator, i.e.:
https://mera400.pl/CROOK-5_-_obraz_dysku

Some basic specs of the machine:
- 16-bit asynchronous CPU, up to 1 million operations per second
- 48-bit hardware floating point
- 121 instructions
- 1Mword (2MB) total address space
- memory segmentation and paging: dedicated memory block for OS + 15 
blocks for user programs
- 32 interrupts (maskable, 10 priority levels)


Kind Regards!
Martin


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