173 lines
3.7 KiB
Markdown
173 lines
3.7 KiB
Markdown
# NT-Lite -- an x86-64 kernel
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“UNIX has three operations: read, write, and lie through ioctl.”
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## what is it?
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NT-Lite is a 64-bit operating system kernel written from scratch.
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It boots into a shell, launches programs, runs Doom, talks TCP/IP, and occasionally reminds you that it is still a hobby kernel.
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## paths
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You thought it would be easy, would you?
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```text
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"apps/shell_native.exe" -> current working directory
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"/SystemRoot/apps/shell_native.exe" -> system volume, symlink to /Device/HarddiskVolumeN
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"/Device/HarddiskVolume1/boot.ini" -> system volume
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"C:\apps\doom.exe" -> /SystemRoot/apps/doom.exe through win32.dll
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"\apps\doom.exe" -> /SystemRoot/apps/doom.exe through win32.dll
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"/apps/video.exe" -> /SystemRoot/apps/video.exe through posix.dll
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```
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## networking
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The socket syscalls are BSD-shaped, but not BSD-compatible. Same nouns (AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, IPPROTO_TCP), none of the baggage:
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one fixed-size tagged address struct instead of the sockaddr_in/sockaddr_storage casting dance,
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no htons/ntohl conversions, and DNS resolution is a syscall rather than a userspace library call.
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That's right microkernel purists, cry some more. Ergonomics.
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Async is first-class here too, same machinery as the filesystem. Except the DNS resolver. Ergonomics, am I right?
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## how to build
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- get mtools
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- open the VS x64 build tools
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- change into this directory
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- run `build.bat`
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- use one of:
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- `run.bat` — IDE
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- `rund.bat` — IDE, debug
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- `runa.bat` — AHCI
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- `runad.bat` — AHCI, debug
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## how it looks when built
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The ESP is just the boot anchor:
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```text
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efi/boot/
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bootx64.efi
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efi/ntlite/fs/
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...
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boot.ini
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```
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The configured system volume carries the OS:
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```text
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system/
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colonel.exe
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hal.dll
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init.exe
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rssrv.exe
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syscall.dll
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win32.dll
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posix.dll
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settings.ini
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drivers/
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drivers.ini
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ahci.sys
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ata.sys
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fat.sys
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hda.sys
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lwip.sys
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ntfs.sys
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ext4.sys
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pci.sys
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ps2.sys
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rtl816x.sys
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rtl8139.sys
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cereal.sys
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usb.sys
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vmwaresvga.sys
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apps/
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shell_native.exe
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shell_win32.exe
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shell_posix.exe
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doom.exe
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video.exe
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edit.exe
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httpget.exe
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tcpserve.exe
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udp.exe
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resolve.exe
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ping.exe
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memtop.exe
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```
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## screenshots
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## faq
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Q: Is it secure?
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A: Don't connect to the internet with it.
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Q: Who is this for?
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A: Me.
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Q: What's next?
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A: Whatever I fixate on next.
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Q: Does it run Doom?
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A: `doom.exe`
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Q: Can it play Crysis?
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A: Into the bucket list.
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Q: Does USB work?
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A: It did for everything I threw at it.
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Q: If I write a program now, will it run in the future?
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A: WE DO, in fact, BREAK USERSPACE.
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Q: Can you read and write files?
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A: As far as I'm aware.
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Q: Does it have async I/O?
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A: The best you'll get.
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Q: Does the networking actually work?
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A: It didn't crash yet.
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Q: Does it really have SMP?
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A: Watch out. It bites.
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Q: Is the Win32 layer real?
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A: API wise, yes. Binary compatibility wise, close but no.
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Q: Are processes isolated?
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A: No. But IPC is free. And you can't steal handles. Is this how a serious modern OS should isolate processes? No.
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Are we a serious OS? No. Is it very convenient? Absolutely.
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Q: How often does it crash?
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A: It doesn't if you don't touch it.
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Q: Can it recover from a crash?
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A: Works on my machine.
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Q: Is this finished?
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A: Does it look finished?
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Q: Will it corrupt my data?
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A: It shouldn't.
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Q: Why is the path syntax so weird?
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A: It makes sense to me.
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Q: Why are the logs so verbose?
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A: Try debugging an interrupt path with vibes.
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Q: What should I read first?
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A: This document.
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Q: How do I contribute?
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A: `maksw@maksw.pl`
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Q: Can I use this in production?
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A: Don't.
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#### Project dedicated to the honorable, esteemed Professor Leszek Wójcik through whom I came to hate Unix.
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