[Intro]
Hello! Today we continue our exploration of various and unfamiliar operating systems.
In this video we will look at SerenityOS and find out the answer to the question "what is it and why is it done?"
SerenityOS is a Unix-like operating system written entirely from scratch in C++. It is a tribute to the interfaces of the 90s.
The main goal of this system is to combine the great look of the interface from the 90s and the power of work from the 2000s.
The system constantly does not stand still, because its developers do not plan to stop at a raw product that can be used strictly for testing purposes: they want to bring it to mind so that everyone can use it on a daily basis.
Those who have at least seen and used any of the Unix-like family systems will find a lot in common and familiar. Of the most important, it can be noted:
- familiar file layout at the root of the system
- implementation of the ext2 filesystem, written in the same C++
- an implemented and working system "/ proc"
- pseudo-terminals and text consoles (/dev/pts; /dev/tty)
- working POSIX
Before us is the SerenityOS desktop. As the developers said, the entire interface in this system is made in the style of the 90s.
Simply put, in the style of Windows 95, 98, old versions of MacOS, and so on.
At first glance, you can see the presence of the latter: the panel at the top, the actions of the program on the panel (and not in the window), the panel at the bottom, but if you look closely, the influence of the second version of the GNOME desktop is more noticeably.
For those who do not understand what I mean, I show
Now let's answer an interesting question: isn't this Linux?
Many people would think that this is just a reworked Linux.
Yes, there are a lot of similarities between them, but it is implemented, firstly, in different ways in both systems, and secondly, it would be very strange to just fork a ready-made kernel when it was stated that the system itself was written from scratch.
However, they all belong to the "Unix-like" family, what is SerenityOS, and Linux itself.
To better understand the above, let's briefly analyze what "Unix-like" means. Take Darwin and MINIX as examples. What do they have in common?
Let's take two virtual machines and do a simple check - enter "ls /"
We will see a similar root structure on both disks by entering the same command.
This is the point: Unix-like systems can look the same, have the same package composition, but their code base can differ significantly from each other, depending on who and in what language this program is written.
We will conduct a similar test on SerenityOS and compare it with Linux.
Let's launch the terminal and create a new document.
Now, ask the system to find the word "Myslivets" in this document...
The system found him. Let's repeat the identical test on Linux.
As you can see, the result is the same, but, I repeat, these programs are written in completely different ways.
Now let's get under the hood of the system itself. Its main components are divided into certain groups (i.e. servers), similar to the initialization systems in BSD and Linux.
The very "top" is the SystemServer, which already manages all other servers (for example, the desktop and windows (WindowServer), network connection via HTTP (WebServer), sounds (SoundServer) and others)
What is given to you, an ordinary user?
Quite a common question
In principle, everything you need is here. And if developers implement packages in the future, then it will be possible to make "survival".
At this stage, we have...
...various applications and games,
web-browser,
almost working music semi-editor :),
C++ development tools right at your home
Honestly, it is impossible to list the full list of software out of the box for the video, everything is learned in the study.
And now, the most important question...
Where can I download all this stuff?
Well, the answer may upset many: it cannot be downloaded.
Even in the same form as the ISO file we all know.
Then another question arises: how did I try it?
The answer is simple: the only way to try it is to build it from source (as the creators themselves bequeathed). The main thing is to have the desire and patience, and then the compiler will do its job.
To build, you need pure Linux. You can do it on WSL2, but the build will take much longer, because the whole process is performed in a "container".
Fortunately, there were people who collected this operating system for me (I will leave their names in the description) and made it run normally on both VirutalBox and VMware Workstation ...
And that's all. If you liked it, like it and subscribe to the channel, I will be very grateful. It was Daniel, see you soon!