Behind Menuet, an OS Written Entirely In Assembly 419
angry tapir writes "MenuetOS is an operating system written entirely in assembly language. As a result it's extremely quick and compact (it can even fit on a floppy disk, despite having a GUI). It can run Quake. Two of the developers behind MenuetOS took time out to talk about what inspired them to undertake the daunting task of writing the operating system, the current state of Menuet and future plans for it."
From the license... (Score:5, Funny)
Are you sure they wrote the entire thing in assembly language?
But (Score:4, Funny)
Oh wait...
What! (Score:2, Funny)
It seems their webserver isn't written in assembler.
They should... (Score:5, Funny)
"it can even fit on a floppy disk"... (Score:5, Funny)
is that some kind of new super-awesome flexible organic flash memory?
Followup to Menuet (Score:5, Funny)
Build a 747 with nothing but stone knives and bear skins...
Thanks for your great accomplishments! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Not the best choice of languages (Score:5, Funny)
You are right of course. What they need is some kind of software tool that can automatically and quickly generate code optimized for any new hardware that comes out. Rather than code in the particular assembly language of the processor of the day they could write out their algorithms in some kind of abstract, human readable script, which the aforementioned tool would then convert to assembly language.
Why has nobody thought to create such a useful tool for these poor chaps??
Re:From the license... (Score:4, Funny)
Hex? You had it easy.
I had to flip switches on a front panel, in binary.
Though come to think of it, when I was a child I had a 'computer' that was programmed by putting wires into holes in a breadboard. So.. binary, pah! I had it easy...
obsolete technology (Score:5, Funny)
(it can even fit on a floppy disk, despite having a GUI)
Excellent, but if we're going to measure these things in obsolete technology;
- How many parchments would I need to copy it?
- Could my team of monks transcribe it in its entirety before the Feast of All Hallows Eve?
- If the Germans intercepted a morse transmissions of it, how long would it take them to crack the code and scupper our plans to retake mainland Europe?
Re:From the license... (Score:2, Funny)
Thats nothing, when i was a child i had a calculator that was a pile of pebbles. By putting them in different piles i could count different types of objects at the same time.
No (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It's not FOSS? (Score:5, Funny)
Imagine what today's world would be like if Linus had gotten pissed when people started working with the Linux Kernel.
I'm guessing the population in the western world would be higher.
Re:Followup to Menuet (Score:3, Funny)
Or how about Building a 747 while in the sky [youtube.com].
Re:From the license... (Score:2, Funny)
Can't blame him, I wouldn't want that either.
Re:It's not FOSS? (Score:3, Funny)
There's always some smart-arse coming up with reasons to disallow free beer at work, dammit.
Should have used Java (Score:1, Funny)
If they wanted speed, they should have written the kernel in Java.
The very latest JVMs use clever "Just-In-Time" compilation techniques to dynamically re-write the code in real time, without any performance loss what-so-ever, typically giving speed-ups in the order of 50,000% compared to C, C++ and even the very best hand-crafted machine-code from assembler professors.
My Javascript OS (Score:4, Funny)
I guess now is not the right time to announce my OS written entirely in Javascript. It can already play the Bill Gates Pie in the Face game.
Re:From the license... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:From the license... (Score:5, Funny)
I opened my hands and let the delicate wings flap once. The disturbance ripples outward, changing the flow of the eddy currents in the upper atmosphere. These cause momentary pockets of higher-pressure air to form, which act as lenses that deflect incoming cosmic rays, focusing them to strike the drive platter and flip the desired bit.
*shamelessly stolen from XKCD [xkcd.com]
Re:Yes! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:"it can even fit on a floppy disk"... (Score:3, Funny)
No, it's yet another proprietary Sony format that Sony is going to try to force on consumers.
RIOT AGAINST SONY AND THEIR "FLOPPY" DISKS! PROPRIETARY I SAY!
Re:From the license... (Score:4, Funny)
For those of you not interested in following the link...there's an Emacs command for that.
Re:Should have used Java (Score:2, Funny)
Real programmers program in FORTRAN! It is the perfect and most complete programming language! FORTRAN is simultaneously the language of the future AND the past!
Anything C can do, FORTRAN can do better AND automatically! FORTRAN will take us to new heights as a human race!
FORTRAN will make your computer do work before you even think it!
Cool GUI. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:It's not FOSS? (Score:3, Funny)
All 5 of them?
Re:From the license... (Score:3, Funny)
why would it not be a commericially viable product?
also if they just stuck it out there for anyone to fork off and do what they want with it - then they can quickly remove any chance of it being commericially viable.
It's impressive work - let them share it how they want.
I have a feeling that the Year of the MenuetOS on Desktop is coming soon.
Re:From the license... (Score:3, Funny)
2009 is the year of the Emacs desktop!