Valix

build_dependencies

2011-08-27T14:50:34-06:00

The following dependencies must be installed on your system to build Valix. Currently only the Linux operating system is supported, though some other OSes could be doable with some challenge. * GRUB 1.98 or greater * GCC 4.4.x or greater * xorriso (any current version), sometimes called genisoimage or similar on certain distributions

checklist

2011-03-21T21:19:29-06:00

If you are a developer and currently working on some part, please say so by adding your handle. To do: * High Priority * Bytecode Interpreter/VM xvedejas * Drivers * Ne2k (Networking) * ATAPI (Storage) * FileCore VFS * ValixFS * Better video abstraction routines

code_examples

2012-05-13T12:09:56-06:00

There are three types of methods, syntactically speaking. Unary, binary, and keyword methods differ only in how they are called. They are very similar in that the method name follows the object after a space. Unary methods have no argument, and binary methods have exactly one argument. Keyword methods can have one or more arguments.

design_goals

2011-08-01T09:09:05-06:00

The Valix Operating System is a testbed for certain experimental or unusual ideas in OS design. The following are some unrelated goals decided upon and explanations of how we plan to implement them. Valid “We live in a universe that is governed by unbreakable laws of physics. This has disadvantages (we can't travel faster than the speed of light), but also advantages (we can predict the trajectory of a missile). In this regard, an interpreter is a tool for constructing a new universe, with its…

faq

2011-08-21T00:48:00-06:00

What is the goal of Valix? The goals of Valix are, by my observation, quite different from the goals of most other hobby OS projects. A quick look through some other projects, you see things like “POSIX compatibility”, “super stable and super fast”, “cross platform”, or specific uses like “webserver”. The philosophy behind Valix, though, can really be summed up by one phrase: Experimentation in Design. So far that means we've made some very counter-intuitive but interesting design choices.…

irc_quotes

2011-11-30T17:26:11-06:00

I want you to send me you saying “penguin fang” several times

kernel_threads

2011-11-30T17:26:11-06:00

Thread *getCurrentThread(); Thread *spawn(String name, ThreadFunc (*func)()); void sleep(u32 milliseconds); void endThread(); spawn() is used to create new threads. New threads must be started within a new function. This is useful because the thread already has a guaranteed end point when the thread function returns, and checking PIDs is not necessary to tell the parent thread from the child thread.

langdev

2011-09-22T18:37:49-06:00

* Tail recursive parsers are easy to write by hand * An example of a hand-written lexer. * An example of a tail recursive parser that generates bytecode. * An extensible prototype object model (PDF). * A bytecode VM in progress. * Worlds (PDF), a side-effect controlling concept.

memory_management

2011-03-11T14:05:26-06:00

In Valix, available memory is allocated in blocks, each with a header at the beginning. Each free block's header points to the next free block and each used block's header points to the next used block. The first used and free blocks are kept track of.

premature_optimization

2011-11-30T17:26:11-06:00

Premature optimizations are class of optimizations that are done before there is anything to optimize. It's uncertain whether a premature optimization should be called 'optimization' at all, because not doing them in first place may end up in faster programs.

sidebar

2011-11-30T17:26:11-06:00

Welcome to the Valix Wiki! Start

start

2012-05-11T15:52:28-06:00

The goal-orientated approach that the management books advocate is to find a need and fill it. We don’t get many new ideas out of that because if you ask most people what they want, they want just what they have now, 10 percent faster, 10 percent cheaper, with 10 percent more features. It’s kind of a boring way to predict the future. But if we look at the big hitters in the 20th century, like the Xerox machine, like the personal computer, like the pocket calculator, all of these things did somet…

style_and_organization

2011-03-16T12:43:16-06:00

Project Filesystem Header Files In general, there should be a header file for every individual code file. The position of the header file should be inc/$ARCH/filename.h, and the source file should be src/$ARCH/filename.c. Subdirectories will eventually be added. Sometimes a file needs some assembly code; instead of using large amounts of gcc's inline assembly, create a filename.asm in the same directory as the C file. These two files will share the same header.

using_git_and_collaboration

2011-08-24T17:15:40-06:00

Git Our current repo can be found by following the below link: You can find some older repositories here: IRC We often collaborate in real-time using IRC. Our main channel is #valix on irc.freenode.net, and the channel #valix-dev is invite-only. Additionally, ##valix-offtopic is the designated place for off-topic chat.

valid

2011-11-30T17:26:11-06:00

“Valid” is the tentative name for the programming language featured in Valix. The original idea behind the Valix operating system was that the system programming language and scripting language ought to be the same thing. Both the programming language and scripting language of an operating system are, in a sense, the interface between userland and the kernel. In Unix-like operating systems, C is generally used as the system programming language and Bash or some other Unix shell is used for scri…