New to OS programming - Some questions...

[rexlunae]

I think we need straight answers to a couple simple questions before anyone here can be any help to you:

-Does your OS run in protected mode?
-What tools are you using to write and run your OS?
-Why do you want to reimplement Linux instead of just using Linux?
-Are you willing to put in time (more than 1 year) working on this?

I you don't know the answers to any of the questions, that's OK, just say so.

[Mastermind]

1. Yes, the OS runs in protected mode right now
2. I am using NASM and a C compiler from the GCC to write and run the OS
3. I want to have an X Window system and I do not know how to make some things in my OS, so I would like to have compatibility with Linux
4. I have already put about 6 months into the project, so why stop now?

[rexlunae]

1. Yes, the OS runs in protected mode right now
2. I am using NASM and a C compiler from the GCC to write and run the OS
3. I want to have an X Window system and I do not know how to make some things in my OS, so I would like to have compatibility with Linux
4. I have already put about 6 months into the project, so why stop now?

Then all you should need to do is support all the Linux system calls, and an elf loader, and your file system will probably need to support the basic features of all Unix filesystems. The Linux kernel source is the best place to find out what system calls exist. Some Linux programs rely on things like the proc file system, so you will need that too. You could consider looking at the Linux emulation features of <a href="http://www.freebsd.org">FreeBSD</a>, as they have spent a lot of time addressing the problems of emulating Linux binaries. Part of it depends on if you want to have a native interface for your OS, or just use Linux's. FreeBSD essentially needs a small Linux installation in its own root in order to install all the Linux libraries without name confilict with native libraries.

[Mastermind]

Okay, thanks very much for the assistance.

The Mastermind