DOSPR

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<book>

<title>DeforaOS Project Reference</title>

<firstname>Pierre</firstname><surname>Pronchery</surname>

<email>khorben@defora.org</email>

</address>

</affiliation>

</author>

<holder>Pierre Pronchery</holder>

</copyright>

</bookinfo>

<title>Introduction</title>

<para>

Nowadays mainly two conceptions of computing compete: open source and proprietary software. I believe that most software should be available with its source code, as a proof of quality, interoperability, and security, to only quote the most obvious reasons.

</para>

<para>

However, most open source operating systems are based on UNIX. While this can be considered as a mature, stable and portable operating system, its use can be cryptic, and users are often facing technical inner workings of this system. Moreover, most human-computer interfaces, either in text or graphical mode, and even configuration files, are incoherent between each other, and particularly in community open source systems.

</para>

<para>

It is also certainly worth thinking about a technical re-design of the UNIX system. It has been originally designed along with C, with a monokernel approach, on computers where every single character handling avoided counted. Now the power of even 10 years old computers is far beyond this, and researchers are working on micro-kernels, and safe programming languages for instance.

</para>

<para>

Today I think my ideal operating system should be open source, micro-kernel based, usable on pentium-class computers, coherent, connected, and distributed. This paper explains in detail how I would design and implement it.

</para>

<para>

Even though I am a fervent supporter of free software, this project is important to me, and also carries some convictions I have about software development (which I explain in this document). Consequently, I will remain the project leader, and will be the only responsible person for decisions taken in the project (of course I'll try to be fair).

</para>

</preface>

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