Hi. My name is Roman (aka Revertron), and I’m developing an OS in Rust. But don’t laugh right now, let me explain.
I’m not that naive like more or less all of starting software developers in high schools. For starters, I’m approaching 36 and have about 12 years of experience in software development. I’ve worked on UI solutions, client-server code and so many other things that I can’t possibly name them all.
So why an operating system you ask?
I’ll tell you why. Most of the successful OSes we know were developed from a reasonable necessity. I believe that current OSes are going away from what a true OS should be.
Then what is an OS done right?
- First off it has to be easy to use for as many people as possible. As easy to use as a pencil or a pen. As we move to a world populated by devices we can hardly imagine our lives without a PC at home anymore. But there are many people that aren’t familiar with all those modern interfaces and concepts.
- Second, it must be secure. For those unfamiliar with computer science the Operating System should unobtrusively make them aware of security concepts, rights and permissions in every aspect of handling various types of information, which may involve actual work or entertainment.
- Third it must serve as a modern platform for software development. It should be easy and entertaining to start. It has to allow automation and customization without compromising security, of course.
- Fourth, the security model of the OS must protect not only the system itself, but with highest priority all of the user’s data. You sure have heard of ransomware that encrypts user files and extorts money to decrypt them.
To sum it up: a necessity has emerged, and we need an OS that meets its challenges. We can do it without backward compatibility and silly attempts to patch 30 year old code of current OSes.