Syllable- The Little OS with a Big Future

Tired of endless Windows security problems? Intrigued by Linux's power but discouraged by its complexity? Tempted by Mac OS but not thrilled with the hardware cost? If so, you might want to investigate the growing bunch of hobbyist OSes -- Syllable, SkyOS, Haiku, MenuetOS, Visopsys, ReactOS and others. Syllable is perhaps the most promising of them all; it's a maturing open source desktop OS with an evolving kernel & device driver range, and is targeted at the home/small-office user.

Introduction

Syllable is a volunteer project that creates a family of easy to use, free software operating systems. You can use them separately, or you can use them together to form network platforms. The goal of the Syllable project is to create a family of easy-to-use free software operating systems. It is the continuation of the BeOS-like AtheOS.

Syllable Desktop (operating system)

Syllable 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. It was forked from the stagnant AtheOS in July 2002.

It has a native web browser (Webster which is WebKit-based), email client (Whisper), media player, IDE, and many more applications

Syllable 0.6.5

Features according to the official website include:

Native 64-bit journaled file system, the AtheOS File System (usually called AFS, which is not the same as the Andrew File System)

C++ oriented API Object-oriented graphical desktop environment on a native GUI

architecture Mostly POSIX compliant Software ports, including Emacs, Vim, Perl, Python, Apache and

others. GNU toolchain (GCC, Glibc, Binutils, Make) Pre-emptive multitasking with multithreading Symmetric multiprocessing (multiple processor) support Device drivers for most common hardware (video, sound, network

chips) File system drivers for FAT (read/write), NTFS (read) and ext2

(read) REBOL as system scripting language

A Tale of Two Operating Systems

So what exactly is Syllable and what can it do for you? We are producing two operating systems: Syllable Desktop and Syllable Server. They are meant for different roles, but they share the goals of being as easy to use as possible while still being very powerful. Syllable Desktop is meant to run on personal computers. It is fully graphical, so it is easy to operate for people who don't care about diving into technical details. At the same time, it also offers a traditional command prompt environment that is well-known to technical-minded people as an extra, so nobody loses out.

Syllable Server is meant to run on server computers - the ones that quietly do their work in backrooms and that you can connect to over the network with your personal computer. Thus, Syllable Server and Syllable Desktop are made to work together. You can happily use them on their own and with many different systems, but used together they will provide extra advantages. For example, if you want to set up a network of machines, it is easier if both desktop and server computers are alike, at least in their software. There will be less you will need to learn and remember to accomplish your tasks.

An important thing to know about Syllable is that Syllable Server is based on the well-known Linux kernel, but Syllable Desktop is not. Thus, Syllable Server is a Linux distribution, but Syllable Desktop is not. We started Syllable Desktop in 2002 and based it on the AtheOS operating system. Its author ceased its development around that time, so we effectively took it over. In 2007, we created Syllable Server with the same tools that we developed for Syllable Desktop, but basing it on Linux. The Linux kernel is not a complete operating system, but only the core for one, so we molded it into a complete system by adapting the parts that we already had. This way, we have made the two systems quite similar. When you can work with one, you can work with the other.

However, Syllable Server does not have a full graphical environment yet. We are putting the one from Syllable Desktop on it, so it will become a very easy to use server system, but until we are done, Syllable Server can only be operated from a text mode command prompt. After that, the choice between the two environments will be up to the user. Unlike Syllable Desktop, it will always be possible to run Syllable Server without the graphical environment where and when this is more suitable.

Syllable Desktop

Is an original, modern operating system design, in the tradition of the Amiga and BeOS, but built using many parts from the GNU project and Linux. It is designed and optimized for your desktop PC, making it exceptionally fast and responsive and easy to use. It is under development, so it is interesting and even exciting to try out, but you have to decide for yourself whether it fits your needs already. Syllable Desktop runs on industry-standard Personal Computers with a minimum of a Pentium compatible processor and 32 MB of memory. It can make a new computer extremely fast and an old computer usable again.

Syllable Desktop

Syllable Desktop

Syllable is still being developed, but it is already relatively stable and mature, including the following features:

Operating system optimised for desktop computers. Easy to use graphical work environment with consistent,

simple but powerful interface. Text console emulation is available as extra within the graphical environment.

High response speed to user input, even under load. Fast start-up (under ten seconds on modern computers)

and shut-down (around five seconds). Based on the AtheOS operating system. Modular. Multi-

user. Memory protection. Pre-emptive. Kernel threading. Excellent support for SMP and multi-core systems. Originally inspired by AmigaOS.

Under development. Usability depends on your requirements.

Requirements

Runs on Intel-compatible PCs in 32-bits mode. Minimum requirements are a Pentium processor and 32 MB

memory. (To use the web browser you need some more memory, and 64 MB is needed for the Live CD).

Base installation takes around 250 MB disk space, including a collection of applications.

Hardware support is not bad, but not comprehensive, either. Support for a range of common hardware devices, including video, network and sound cards, USB devices, printers and scanners, from manufacturers such as Intel, AMD, 3Com, nVidia, and Creative.

Use Fully automatic hardware detection and redetection when you

change hardware. Internet access through an Ethernet network (PPP and PPPoE are

not fully supported yet, but are available in a test version). Fast, modern web browser (Webster), based on the Apple

WebKit engine, an e-mail application (Whisper) and a number of other native Syllable applications.

An integrated multi-media framework based on plug-ins. Plug-ins such as FFMPEG and Ogg Vorbis are included, supporting many audio and video formats.

An audio player, a multi-media player and a format conversion tool based on the integrated multi-media framework.

Graphical preferences tools for networking, display preferences, user administration, audio stream mixing and volume setting and so forth.

A dock and application launcher (like the Windows Start button). A journalled 64-bits file system (AFS), modelled on the BeOS file

system. FAT file systems from Windows are also supported, and even the BeOS file system itself. The Windows NTFS and Linux Ext2/3FS formats can be read, but not written yet.

Software management

Very easy software installation and management. Drivers and plug-ins are one or two files that can simply be

dropped into place. Binary compatibility across Syllable versions: you are not

forced to upgrade the system and applications together, but can upgrade them separately when you want to.

Binary compatibility for drivers: the kernel has stable ABIs, so you can usually install and upgrade the system and drivers separately if you want to.

Easy system updates between Syllable versions, preserving user data and most preference settings.

Software development

Self-hosting development environment. An object-oriented, message-passing C++ programming

API, modelled on BeOS. Uses the ORCA clone of the REBOL programming language

as a high-level semantic layer for communication and scripting.

High level of POSIX compliance. We strive to comply 100% where it doesn't compromise the unique features of Syllable's design.

Cross-platform development is supported through ORCA, POSIX, the GNU stack and the SDL subsystem.

License

The program source code is available, mainly under the GPL and LGPL licenses. The base system is free software, but allows closed-source application programs, without paying royalties. While we prefer open source, Syllable is a platform for both open and closed applications.

Syllable Server

Is a small and efficient Linux operating system. It uses the Linux kernel and is compatible with Linux software, but is otherwise built to be as similar as possible to Syllable Desktop, using mostly the same parts. It is optimized for server computers, yet inherits a lot of efficiency and speed from the Syllable Desktop design. The current version only has a text mode console interface suitable for server use and elementary support for running some graphical programs (it is shown here running on Syllable Desktop under emulation). Nonetheless, the clean Syllable design and straightforward documentation make it easy to use. The graphical user interface from Syllable Desktop will be added in later versions to enhance ease of use further. Due to its Linux base, Syllable Server is a stable and usable system. It runs on industry-standard Personal Computers with a minimum of a 486 processor and 16 MB of memory. It can make a new computer very fast and efficient and an old computer usable again.

Syllable Server

Syllable Server

Operating system optimised for server computers. Based on the Linux kernel. Relatively easy to use text console work environment. A

simple graphical environment is available in the form of the DirectFB and SDL subsystems. The graphical environment from Syllable Desktop is being ported on top of this.

High throughput speed. Starting up takes two to three times as long as Syllable

Desktop, but is still very fast compared to other Linux systems.

Under development, but already mature due to its Linux base.

Requirements

Runs on Intel-compatible PCs in 32-bits mode. Porting the system to other machine architectures is relatively easy due to its Linux base.

Minimum requirements are a 486 processor and 16 MB memory.

Base installation takes around 370 MB disk space. Supports all hardware that Linux supports.

Use

A graphical web browser (Links2) and some other tools for easy management, such as Midnight Commander.

Audio subsystem based on ALSA. The integrated multi-media framework from Syllable Desktop will be ported on top of ALSA and DirectFB.

Supports all file systems that Linux supports (a lot :-). Uses ReiserFS 3 by default.

QEmu is included for virtualisation and emulation.

Software management

Very easy software installation and management. Binary compatibility across Syllable versions: you are not

forced to upgrade the system and applications together, but can upgrade them separately when you want to.

Software development

Programs for the graphical environment will be source compatible with Syllable Desktop.

Uses the ORCA clone of the REBOL programming language as a high-level semantic layer for communication and scripting.

REBOL software stack for additional programming. REBOL/Core is included. Supports all standards that the Linux kernel supports. Cross-platform development is supported through ORCA,

REBOL, POSIX, the GNU stack and the SDL subsystem.

License

The program source code is available, mainly under the GPL and LGPL licenses. The base system is free software, but allows closed-source application programs, without paying royalties. While we prefer open source, Syllable is a platform for both open and closed applications.

Submitted by:

AIT 1-2Karla C. Tabaco

Jessa LebunaLaiza Consignado

Nikki Anne De RosasOrlee De Chavez

Sumitted to:

Mr. For-Ian V. Sandoval