a new kind of operating system

[ReadyEvenAfterDeath]

hello all i have been looking all over the internet and was wondering if it is to start with even possible to theoretically create an operating system that is both extremely stable and compatible with both windows executable files and all types of linux files thx in advance for any help everyone

[dxqcanada]

It's already been done ... that would be Linux with Wine.

[Crimsonfire]

Oh Wine isnt perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I've had my share of problems with it.

A true universal OS with total compatibility with windows would be a nice thing but I'd imagine it would take a complete face lift of the fundamentals of linux. From my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong, Linux just has a radically different architecture and filesystem to Windows and they are so inherently different that true compatibility is tricky at best.

[Rubberman]

That's why we have virtual machines, so we can run those brain-dead operating systems when we have no recourse. I have to run Windows XP in order to use a high-end software design and modeling tool as well as my stock/options trading software. I really don't want to run Windows software if I can avoid it. Most is too restricted with regard to DRM and other such cruft. I just got so tired of having to have an internet connection in order to run tools that I finally just refused to do so, and except for these two examples, I have replaced all my software tools with Linux analogues, and for the most part better than the Windows ones.

[computerophil]

hello all i have been looking all over the internet and was wondering if it is to start with even possible to theoretically create an operating system that is both extremely stable and compatible with both windows executable files and all types of linux files thx in advance for any help everyone

Hallo, there are several intends e.g. ReactOS

OpenWindows
Linspire
Xandros
....

but it seems much more difficult than it sounds. It shall work better than windows but if it is too similar Windows (with all its money power) will sue against it

[Kieren]

If such an operating system was created there would also be problems with keeping it compatible when then other operating systems are modified. For example when a new version of Windows is released you constantly hear about people having problems with hardware and software no longer working.

Microsoft have to fix these problems with access to their source code but try to imagine adding compatibilities to your suggested operating system for the new version of Windows as well as being backwards compatible with any older versions.

Things can get even more complicated with deeper architecture changes such as file systems in the cases of Fat32 to NTFS or the more recent Ext3 to Ext4

While technically it is possible it probably isn't practical and would require a full understanding of every operating system that it is trying to be compatible with

[Crimsonfire]

That's why we have virtual machines, so we can run those brain-dead operating systems when we have no recourse. I have to run Windows XP in order to use a high-end software design and modeling tool as well as my stock/options trading software. I really don't want to run Windows software if I can avoid it. Most is too restricted with regard to DRM and other such cruft. I just got so tired of having to have an internet connection in order to run tools that I finally just refused to do so, and except for these two examples, I have replaced all my software tools with Linux analogues, and for the most part better than the Windows ones.

Really? I always assumed llinux was the best platform for software design. I guess if your basing your programs on .NET framework or something. Sorry for the off-topicness but I just find that interesting.

[Rubberman]

Really? I always assumed llinux was the best platform for software design. I guess if your basing your programs on .NET framework or something. Sorry for the off-topicness but I just find that interesting.

I use Linux for all of my basic software development, but there is nothing in the open source space that can do what Sparx Enterprise Architect can do from the full model-driven design prespective with multi-language support and full round-trip engineering, as well as integrated requirements gathering/tracking. And the price is very, very affordable as well, coming in an order of magnitude less than similar tools from IBM/Rational/Tau (all now owned by IBM). So, I use Sparx for the modeling and code generation, and to capture code changes back to the model, but the models themselves and source code all goes to my Linux file system. That's what's nice about having a dual-monitor system and running Sparx in a virtual machine. The model is on one display, and the build/test/run environment is on the other. It actually works quite seamlessly. Some of my code is targeted to Solaris, so I can run that in another VM and open it when I am ready to build/test there, but all the source still resides in one place, on the Linux system.