From the office of "What can't Linux run on?" comes a story about a high school student on a mission to prove that an interactive PDF can run all sorts of things. 

Earlier this year, Toms Hardware reported that Ading2210 created DoomPDF -- inspired by a port of Tetris that ran on a PDF (Pdftris).

Essentially, the apps (and now the Linux kernel) run in a PDF file loaded into your browser. This works through a limited standard JavaScript library that compiles a RISC-V emulator into JavaScript so it can run within a web browser. 

An impressive feat

The output of Linux within the PDF is rendered as ASCII characters. It only works properly within the Chrome browser, and it is an impressive feat.

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Once the kernel loads, you wind up at a terminal prompt, where you use the on-screen keyboard to type a command. It's slow, but you can run quite a few Linux commands -- all from within a PDF.

How cool is this?

I opened the test PDF, ran a few quick commands (echo and top), and laughed when I saw it in action.

The Linux environment contains a shell, vi (text editor), and several other tools that you can test. However, understand that it runs, as you might expect, slowly. Also, keep in mind that PDFs aren't exactly the most secure documents, so the implications of running an OS (even one that is stripped down) need to be considered. That said, the implications of the project could be far-reaching. 

Imagine a PDF with computational power. This could mean even more interactions with PDFs. Think about it. You could create a PDF that accepts user input, calculates figures, or even includes automation. The possibilities are limitless.

Also: 5 lightweight Linux distributions that will bring your old PC back to life

Of course, such a project could also be seen as a dire warning of things to come. You could be sent a PDF with an embedded OS. Open the PDF, and all sorts of havoc could be wreaked.

That said, the linuxpdf project is certainly fascinating.

You can view the source of linuxpdf here and even download or compile it for yourself.

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