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Whitix

Chronology

  • March 25th, 2008 - Withix 0.03
  • March 28th, 2008 - Withix 0.03a
  • April 28th, 2008 - Withix 0.1
  • January 6th, 2009 - Withix 0.2
  • January 25th, 2009 - Withix 0.2a
  • March 1st, 2009 - Withix 0.2b

General Presentation

Whitix (IPA: /ˈhwɪtɨks/) is a desktop computer operating system written from scratch for the x86 architecture by Matthew Whitworth and others. The project aim to combine proven system technology (a Unix-like kernel), while "offering a consistent and clear interface and a new way to navigate the desktop." The operating system runs on a custom open source kernel written by Whitworth; new features include IcFs, a dynamic configuration filesystem that replaces ioctl.

The modular kernel of Whitix is licensed under the GNU General Public License, and is a fully preemptive multitasking kernel with multithreading. It supports a number of filesystems, including the FAT family of filesystems, ext3 (with journalling), Reiserfs and ISO9660. Whitix is available as a live CD for download, and can be installed to the hard drive, beginning with version 0.2.

The userspace comprises a native shell, Burn, and text editor, Fruity, and a range of ported applications. A C-based and BSD-licensed software development kit is available, with bindings for various languages. Whitix contains a POSIX compatibility library (libposix), but does not aim for full POSIX compliance. Whitix's windowing environment is Xynth, a lightweight windowing environment developed by Alper Akcan.

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