PortixOS: Version 0.4 *stable* coming 12.8.2007

[inflater]

Sorry guys for being a little *different* to someone in this forum (you know who), i had exams and learning-to-school stuff every day
Anyways, the exams and tests (I must work REALLY HARD now) aren't over yet, and summer holidays, when I can fully relax , will be from 1. July to 3. September, so the OS development will be suspended for now.

PortixOS is still a "unreal" mode OS - well, kinda like unreal - it boots real mode, it loads kernel still in real mode, but the kernel, when fully loaded, loads a custom memory manager that can access up to 4GB of RAM, like unreal mode. But we aren't in protected mode, so CS and IP are still 16-bit - the code is still limited to 64K, like unreal mode (Actually, PortixOS in version 0.4 pre-release 2 doesn't use more than 640K of base memory )

By the way, PortixOS will have:

-my own RSFS filesystem, well, optimized for floppies, but theoretically it can run under USB flash disks and some smaller disk mediums (except CD-ROMs and stuff)
-PortixOS installation program, supported platforms: Win32, MS-BOSS
or just as a floppy image
-serial port terminal
-possibility to add user applications to OS (sorry, the tool is only for MS-DOS, on Linux, use please dosemu or something)
-and of course, Slovak and English translation

Minimal system requirements:
-80386 CPU
-4 MB RAM
-EGA or better video adapter
-Floppy drive for booting


What are your opinions?
Thanks,inflater

[inflater]

OK, you can visit www.portixos.tk with (almost) no banners
and sorry for being rude, i explained that above

inflater

[inflater]

New things to do:

-Build a PS/2 mouse driver in ASM!, don't leave it to version 0.5
-RSFS file system - basic functions
-after all this, - self hosting , first - FASM port to PortixOS, then, user apps

What do you, OS programmers, think?

inflater

[~]

You'll have to work thoroughly if you are to make it. Even with a free full year it's not easy to achieve since many unexpected problems may appear and one has to ensure that what gets coded really gets merged in the core and works properly. And designing could be done unnecessarily over and over on the same thing if it isn't well thought.

By now the most impressive thing I saw was the shutdown feature, that's something I had been looking for long time. I dislike it being through interrupts (even worse real mode ones) because I have to leave the more complex processor modes for being able to use it, as well as goint below 1MB and reloading the real mode IDTR for being able to use it. But at least for a beginning it's better than having nothing while deciphering ACPI/APM.

It would be better making it 32-bit protected mode or even 64-bit so it can have more capabilities.

[inflater]

Hi,
thanx for your opinions.

I know, OS is unreal mode, it uses much BIOS, but when I try to convert it to 32bit protected mode, do you know what I become? A big headache - almost every function is using BIOS and I don't know how a kernel in BPascal 7.0 will behave in 32-bit PM... (BP supports pmode, but only 16-bit, and, only with DPMI16BI.OVL and RTM.EXE, i think). Unreal mode is something like a "32-bit real mode" - it supports *a much bigger* memory addressing like pmode (4 GB max.) than the standard RM, IRQs, INTs, etc.

You are right, nobody knows what error can happen under OS development .
I am now debugging the mouse driver - I had to rewrite it because of errors in the code, in ASM for now. The driver was a part of my pascal kernel, but now it is fully separated

inflater

[Dex]

Cool that you are making such good progress, and you are starting a trend, as i see more people are starting to code pascal OS.
Keep up the good work .

[inflater]

Thanks!

I discontinued the support of older processors, like 80286 and worser. They're not fully compatible with new OS functions (CPUID[pentium], unreal mode,etc.), since unreal mode is a "from pmode to rmode" jump. I don't even have that old machine to test it on.

inflater

[Dex]

I agree, you should not tie your self to very old PC, if it stop you going forward with your OS.