OtherProjects

[Francois Rideau]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Other Projects related to MOOSE]

Please send me summaries of the OSes and languages you know that can
be related to MOOSE. Please return any useful information.


==============================================================================
=OSes=
======


* Linux *
=========

- What is Linux ?
-----------------
  Linux a *free* 32-bit POSIX compliant (unix clone) OS for i386+
computers.
  It's not Object-Oriented or Persistent at all (though they now try to
have kernel modules), it's not microkernelish (though a port to Mach
is being worked on), it's not portable yet (though a port to the M68K
architecture -- Amigas -- is almost finished, and other ports being
worked on), but well, it runs great, supports a large number of
hardware devices, and almost any Unix-compatible software. It also
has a good DOS "Emulator" (doesn't emulate the CPU).
  If you want a free multitasking 32-bit OS for your PC, Linux is for
you.

- Linux and MOOSE:
------------------
  There are four ways Linux can be used during MOOSE development:
- As a cross-development platform. We can use tools running under Linux
to develop a completely different OS.
- As a basis to modify: we can implement MOOSE as a special Linux kernel-
supported subsystem.
- As a client for a MOOSE filesystem: Linux allows user processes to be
mounted as filesystems. If MOOSE if to offer a file-system like interface,
here is a way to implement it.
- As an OS on top of which to write an application that will emulate
the MOOSE functionalities.

status: world-wide internet individuals project
development language: C
user language: C

news:comp.os.linux.*
email:linux-activists-request@niksula.hut.fi
ftp:ftp.cs.helsinki.fi:/pub/Software/Linux/	original kernel site
ftp:sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux			largest software repository
ftp:tsx-11.mit.edu:/pub/linux			large software repository
ftp:ftp.funet.fi:/pub/OS/Linux			large software repository



* VSTa *
========

- What is VSTa ?
----------------
  A microkernel based free OS.
  It works, but not much hardware or software is supported.
The principle is that from user-level, everything is accessible
through a filesystem like interface (the idea behind Plan9 also),
while a micro-kernel only passes a small number of different
kinds of messages between light processes.
  Moreover, under VSTa, you currently program in "C", so that's
not ideal to build an OO layer; but as the microkernel protocol is
quite simple, we can easily implement any language on top of VSTa
(for the library, that's another thing).

- VSTa and MOOSE
----------------
MOOSE can be implemented as a VSTa server ?

development language: C
user language: C
status: personal project.

ftp:ftp.cygnus.com:/pub/vandys/vsta



* Mach *
========
Microkernel for all kind of OSes.

status: university project, freely distributable with "send modifications
	back" clause.

ftp:*:**/FreeBSD/**



* Watershed *
=============
Persistent OO OS project.

development language: being developped in C.
user language: C for the moment, but without the semantics from the libraries
status: personal project

email: dpw93@ecs.soton.ac.uk (David Wragg)



* GrassHopper *
===============
  Grasshopper is an Australian Project for a Persistent Operating System.
Can anyone contact them and summarize ?

development language: C (?)
user language: ?
status: university project

email:johnr@cs.su.oz.au
http://www.gh.cs.su.oz.au/Grasshopper


* Plan9
=======
It's an OS all functionalities made available through a
Unix-filesystem-like interface.
status: University Project
development language: C
user language: C 



* PC Geos
=========
  Geos is a *commercial* OS, which already implements some
advanced Persistence and OO ideas (?). Anyone has seen it working ?

status: commercial software.

news:comp.*.geos
ftp:130.219.44.141:/pub/geos.