AtheOS
Encyclopedia
AtheOS was a free and open source
operating system
for x86-based computers. It was initially intended as an AmigaOS
clone, but that objective was later abandoned. It is no longer in development, and has been superseded by the Syllable
operating system.
programmer
, Kurt Skauen, from 1994 to the early 2000s; AtheOS was announced to the world in March 2000 on Usenet
. Although it was licensed as free software
, Skauen was more hesitant to accept contributions from the public than other free and open source
operating system projects. The availability of the code under the GNU GPL
allowed other developers to launch Syllable, a fork from the AtheOS code base, with ongoing development.
Skauen ported KHTML
to AtheOS in order to create the ABrowse web browser
.
Free and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
for x86-based computers. It was initially intended as an AmigaOS
AmigaOS
AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000...
clone, but that objective was later abandoned. It is no longer in development, and has been superseded by the Syllable
Syllable (operating system)
Syllable Desktop is a free and open source operating system for Pentium and compatible processors. Its purpose is to create an easy-to-use desktop operating system for the home and small office user...
operating system.
History
It was created entirely by a NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
, Kurt Skauen, from 1994 to the early 2000s; AtheOS was announced to the world in March 2000 on Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
. Although it was licensed as free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, Skauen was more hesitant to accept contributions from the public than other free and open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
operating system projects. The availability of the code under the GNU GPL
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
allowed other developers to launch Syllable, a fork from the AtheOS code base, with ongoing development.
Skauen ported KHTML
KHTML
KHTML is the HTML layout engine developed by the KDE project. It is the engine used by the Konqueror web browser. A forked version of KHTML called WebKit is used by several web browsers, among them Safari and Google Chrome...
to AtheOS in order to create the ABrowse web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
.
Features
- Its own native 64-bit64-bit64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
journaling file systemJournaling file systemA journaling file system is a file system that keeps track of the changes that will be made in a journal before committing them to the main file system...
, the AtheOS File SystemAtheOS File SystemThe AtheOS file system was originally used in the AtheOS operating system, and is now a part of the Syllable operating system. AFS started with exactly the same data structures as the Be File System, BFS, and extended its feature set in many ways. As such, AFS is a 64-bit journaled file system...
(usually called AFS) - Support for symmetric multiprocessingSymmetric multiprocessingIn computing, symmetric multiprocessing involves a multiprocessor computer hardware architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory and are controlled by a single OS instance. Most common multiprocessor systems today use an SMP architecture...
- An original, legacy-free, object-oriented GUIGuiGui or guee is a generic term to refer to grilled dishes in Korean cuisine. These most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetarian ingredients. The term derives from the verb, "gupda" in Korean, which literally...
architecture - Support for most of the POSIXPOSIXPOSIX , an acronym for "Portable Operating System Interface", is a family of standards specified by the IEEE for maintaining compatibility between operating systems...
standard - Pre-emptive multitasking with multithreadingThread (computer science)In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
- C++C++C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
oriented API
External links
- atheos.syllable.org/index.html
- Interview With The AtheOS Creator, Kurt Skauen - OSNewsOSNewsOSNews is a computing news web site with a focus on operating systems and their related technologies that launched in 1997. The content is managed by a group of editors and the owner. The managing editor of OSNews is Thom Holwerda . David Adams is a publisher for OSNews, and also contributes...
(27 August 2001) - AtheOS Wizard Kurt Skauen Tells All - SlashdotSlashdotSlashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
(7 September 2001) - Comparing MenuetOS, SkyOS and AtheOS