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License Updates

posted 29 Jan 2010 15:31 by Bob Moss

In accordance with a promise that I will update all licenses to a much free-er alternative, the depracated Lantern and Apollo kernels have now been relicensed under a BSD-Style one (and an uploaded version of ScorchOS 0.0.7 (Patched) is available to reflect this).

This doesn't mean I'm resuming development - but if I finally manage to get some time on my hands this may change. Thanks to all who have sent emails and asked questions :-)

Important - Development Halted

posted 4 Dec 2009 20:41 by Bob Moss

Hi there!

For ScorchOS fans, I think it is only fair I'm up-front and honest about the current development status of this project. Though you can see a very well dressed shop window the goods aren't being produced.

The main reason for this is that I unfortunately don't have time to keep up development. I am now a University fresher and a freelance journalist (both of which are pretty big commitments), and together with a few family issues I have been unable to give this project the time it deserves. This is likely to be an ongoing theme going into the future, especially as I need to figure out what I'm doing with the coming summer and where I'll be living for the next academic year!

However, the code for all three kernels as things stand will be kept available online, as will this website; I may one day wish to return and restart the project (any who would like to take things over are welcome to!) but to make completely clear: THERE ARE NO SHORT-TERM OR LONG-TERM PLANS TO CONTINUE DEVELOPMENT WITH SCORCHOS. I will point out however that should you choose to use my work for your own projects (all code is under a BSD-style License) then I will happily answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please enjoy what you see and if you have any criticisms, feedback or comments then feel free to drop me a line via the usual channels :-)

Bob

P.S. The following were my plans for the new kernel, should anyone choose to pursue them:
a) Get working cross-compiler configurations for Windows and Linux hosts
b) Setup a kernel with all the features of bkerndev, but written in a completely unique way (think modular microkernel!) in C & C++ (the latter being my favored language) and name this 'Bluebird'
c) Work towards getting the kernel compiling code natively
d) Release the above features as '0.1' (Alpha) and then start porting UNIX/BSD/Linux tools to the platform (or create purely native solutions). A shell in particular for instance. UI and Apps should be kept as abstracted from the kernel and drivers as possible (API?)

No more feature-sets!

posted 11 Sep 2009 03:36 by Bob Moss

As the title suggests, I will no longer be announcing feature-sets until we're nearing an actual release. This is the one thing that continually fluctuates throughout the development cycle, so we wind up with huge numbers of announcements.
 
What I will say about the next version of ScorchOS (0.0.8):
  • It will use the new 'Bluebird' kernel
  • This kernel will either be 64-bit based on the x86 architecture or 32-bit based on the ARM architecture (I'm undecided at this moment in time as to which to go for).
  • It will at the very least have the same amount of functionality as bkerndev
  • It will still run from a grub-based floppy and be supported by the same level of documentation (the wiki will be updated accordingly)
The main aim of 0.0.8 is to provide a sound base for subsequent releases, where the chief aim will be for the project to head towards a self-hosting operating environment.
 
Also...
 
After several emails, I would like to point out that the Apollo (bkerndev-based) and Lantern (FreeBASIC) kernels are still supported for those who want to develop them, but please note that I will not be extending or improving them! I have very little time as it is, and would prefer to devote that time to the new C++ kernel. Once ScorchOS 0.0.8 is released I may license these deprecated kernels under a public domain or BSD-style license.
 
On a related subject, thank you to everyone who has sent emails asking for help, offering advice or encouraging me to carry on development. As I've said already to a couple of you ScorchOS had been left to stagnate after it was slated by the osdev community several times (The jobs and various preparations for the university course I'm starting next week haven't helped either!). I didn't think this project had any kind of following, so all these emails were gratefully received and they've encouraged me to give the project another go. :-)
 

Plans for ScorchOS 0.0.8

posted 19 Aug 2009 08:34 by Bob Moss   [ updated 19 Aug 2009 08:44 ]

Work has started on a new kernel codenamed 'Bluebird' which will replace the 'Apollo' kernel.

ScorchOS 0.0.8 won't be a huge leap from the progress of ScorchOS 0.0.7. The aim is to implement new ideas under the hood and create a much more stable platform:
  • Support for development on major hosts (Windows, Mac OS, Linux and *BSD/Solaris)
  • Increased Stability (dropping shell code for this release)
  • Written in C++/ASM
  • Support for process management/multi-tasking (bespoke ideas could be implemented here ;) ).
  • Support for memory management/allocation/protection
  • Written from scratch (no tutorial code)
  • Boot from floppy using grub
Once we have a sound base, we can move onto ScorchOS 0.0.9 (goals are already set for this once we have a stable base).

If you would like to contribute, just contact Bob Moss.

Note: Originally the ScorchOS project had aimed to produce a kernel called 'Lantern' as the replacement for 'Apollo'. However, this was even less stable than the original kernel, and the lead developer did not have sufficient knowledge of FreeBASIC to maintain it. Anyone who would like to use the kernel is free to do so from the 'Lantern' branch of the SVN repository. It is licensed under the Apache License v2 by default, so just contact the developer if you would like to change this.

ScorchOS Goes On A Break

posted 13 Jul 2009 14:27 by Bob Moss

If you wish to see the latest FreeBASIC source code, head here: http://code.google.com/p/scorchos/

If you would like to see the reasons why, head here: http://forum.osdev.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20517

This is an announcement that development on ScorchOS will be suspended for an indefinite amount of time. This doesn't mean 'forever', but is simply a temporary arrangement.
The lead developer, Bob Moss will be developing other projects he has in the pipeline and the aim is to gain much more experience before having another stab at this project.
However, if you are still interested in developing the project, then please drop Bob Moss a line.

| 1 comment

Going Green

posted 13 Jul 2009 07:57 by Bob Moss

If you liked ScorchOS 0.0.7 and are mortified we're working on a new kernel for ScorchOS 0.0.8, then don't fear! Bob Moss will be contributing a large portion of the old kernel code (and improvements which were never published) to SauOS. This is a small 32-bit Unix-like OS aiming for POSIX-compliance. This project will benefit from the old code and keep it alive in a living, breathing OS kernel.
Initially improvements will be simple ones like being able to build the kernel and try it out. Later, the following features will be ported:
  • Physical Memory Allocation/String Handling (not included with ScorchOS 0.0.7 release)
  • Command line interpreter
Along with the various stability measures which would have been released had we stuck with the same kernel for ScorchOS 0.0.8. Watch this space - there will be an announcement here when this project is ready to release!

Latest News on ScorchOS 0.0.8 (Under Development)

posted 7 Jul 2009 08:12 by Bob Moss   [ updated 7 Jul 2009 08:27 ]

Things have moved on at a real pace since the last update for ScorchOS.The kernel now has:
  • GDT Support
  • IDT and Interrupt handling
  • A Text-Mode VGA driver
The following features are supported for but are not yet fully implemented in the kernel:
  • Physical Memory Management
  • Page Memory Addressing
Features under heavy development:
  • IRQ support
  • System Timer
  • Process Multi-tasking & Scheduling Support
  • CPU Identification
All this means we should very soon have a kernel to shout about! The use of FreeBASIC has led to much faster progress than expected!

The plan once these features are stable:
  • Complete Full Cross-Compiler Support (Currently Only Cross-Compiled binutils is supported)
  • Do a drastic rewrite of shell code (I am undecided as to whether to recycle the old C code or rewrite it in FreeBASIC)
The new Lantern kernel will be moved from /branches/lantern to /trunk in the SVN repo approximately 2 weeks before the release of ScorchOS 0.0.8 for final release candidate testing.

Things are getting quite exciting, and Bob Moss (currently the sole ScorchOS developer) hopes to release it before the end of the summer. Plans for ScorchOS 0.0.9 will be posted once ScorchOS 0.0.8 heads into beta stage.

Major Bugs with ScorchOS 0.0.7 - Patch Released

posted 7 Jul 2009 08:10 by Bob Moss

The patch (as announced) has now been released!

The various improvements are included in the 'CHANGES.TXT' file in the 'doc' directory of the source code.
This patch makes ScorchOS 0.0.7 a heck of a lot less crash-prone and removes all debugging features which were left in accidentally!

Watch this space for news on ScorchOS 0.0.8!

(Originally Posted: 16/03/09 23:36 GMT)

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