The kernel borrows quite a lot of code from the WINE project, and implements it rather nicely. monolithic kernel debate here, it will suffice to say that even with its monolithic kernel, the ROS core is the fastest we have seen to date, compared to Linux, Windows, and far out-performs Macintosh’s (“hybrid”) microkernel architecture. A hybrid kernel is either a microkernel or monolithic kernel under a different name). There is no need to get into yet another µkernel vs. What this means for users is that a program that uses just the supported sections of code (heavily or lightly) may work great, but the rest of the Operating System will lack quite a lot of functionality, and often crashes when trying to do something that hasn’t been fully coded.įollowing the Windows model, ReactOS uses a monolithic kernel (technically it’s a ‘hybrid kernel’ but that’s marketing BS. Obviously there are different teams focus on the various components of the ROS kernel, but nevertheless, it poses a serious problem for the OS as a whole until all sections are complete. Until a ‘section’ of the kernel is practically feature-complete & fully compatible, the rest of the kernel will, in a word, suffer. As such, ReactOS isn’t designed according to traditional means.Īt the moment, ReactOS development seems to involve coding the kernel section-by-section, one stack at a time. ReactOS’ biggest goal, the ability to run any native Windows application on a ReactOS kernel without any loss of functionality or experience, is solely dependant on just how much of the respective kernel code has been completed. But when you set off with a goal to mimic the features of an existing kernel and provide complete cross-compatibility, you have a problem. When a kernel for any OS is designed, generally the entire thing is completed to a limited extent, then one bit at a time, the code is perfected and the features are finished. This at once poses a great challenge and with it though a rather large inhibition. The ‘goal’ for ReactOS’ final kernel is to be the Windows kernel, but with new source. The ReactOS kernel is the most integral part of the entire project, and it is a testimony to years of dedicated clean room design, with years of reverse engineering and code-from-scratch going to work. You can see NeoSmart Technologies’ ReactOS Screenshot Tour for a quick look at what there is to see.Īt heart, any operating system is no more powerful or useful than its kernel allows it to be. This review of ReactOS will not revolve as much around usability, stability, or features as much as it does on the core concept and the development cycle. Rather, ReactOS takes the Windows code a step further by stripping it down to the bare minimum – leaving a kernel that is (supposedly) fast, light, clean, and powerful with a more stable user interface with greater flexibility where implementation is concerned. ReactOS is a true community-driven initiative to make a better operating system, and it strikes at the heart of the corporate OS world by appealing directly to the users of Windows, theoretically providing the very things that Microsoft advertises Windows as being excellent for – without the price tag and with greater flexibility.īut ReactOS is much more than just a GPL Windows-Clone. ReactOS is a project intended to bring together the power of open-source, the usability of Microsoft’s Windows, and most importantly the immense driver and application database available to Windows users into one operating system that can distributed free of charge and licensed at will. At its heart, ReactOS is an initiative to create an open-source project that is fully compatible with the all Windows NT-based drivers, applications, and services. ReactOS is a 100% Open Source (mostly GPL) rewrite of the Windows Kernel. It was called ReactOS, and this time it was for real. Two years later, the dos-clone kernel was dumped, and the real project began. Originally called FreeWin95, the project had a decent idea, but terribly organized, implemented, and coded. In 1996, Linux was unusable for anyone but the most technologically ‘gifted’ and Windows 95 wasn’t anywhere near as complex as Windows today. Almost exactly 10 years ago, a team began to search for a fix. Windows is excellent and unbeatable for quite a few people and tasks. The idea is simple: Linux isn’t always the best non-Windows operating system.
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