Developing a Operating System & Kernel in AutoIt

[LAteNightSpecial]

*** DISCLAIMER ***

Personally, I know more about machines than are publicly disclosed (The only Difference between arrogance and confidence is one's own ignorance to differentiate between the two). So, I thought I would run a silly question through what we have available just to see what would happen. I giggled a little bit, as I thought the basic models would come back with some monkey wrench doorknob goblin sysadmin nonsense. Granted the forum topic is "Deploying a Operating System". However, I found the responses quite intriguing. (Why did CERN and NASA decide to collaborate on a project? Because they wanted to create a black hole big enough to swallow up all their paperwork!)

Developing an operating system in AutoIt would indeed be a significant challenge, given that AutoIt is primarily designed for automating tasks on the Windows platform and is not typically used for low-level system programming tasks. However, if you were to attempt such a project, here's a general outline of the steps you might take:

1. Research and Planning:

   • Start by researching operating system development concepts and principles.
   • Understand the architecture of modern operating systems, including kernel design, memory management, process scheduling, device drivers, file systems, etc.
   • Plan out the basic features and functionalities you want your operating system to have.

2. Set up Development Environment:

   • Set up a development environment with the necessary tools for operating system development.
   • You may need a toolchain for compiling code, as well as emulators or virtual machines for testing your operating system.

3. Kernel Development:

   • Begin by developing the kernel of your operating system.
   • Write code to handle essential functionalities such as interrupt handling, memory management (paging, segmentation), process management, and basic I/O.

4. Device Drivers:

   • Develop device drivers to interface with hardware components such as keyboard, mouse, display, disk drives, etc.
   • These drivers will allow your operating system to communicate with and control hardware devices.

5. User Interface:

   • Develop a user interface for interacting with the operating system.
   • This could include implementing a shell or command-line interface initially, and later developing a graphical user interface (GUI) if desired.

6. File System:

   • Implement a basic file system to manage storage devices and files.
   • This involves designing data structures and algorithms for file storage, directory structures, file operations (read, write, delete), etc.

7. Testing and Debugging:

   • Test your operating system thoroughly to identify bugs and issues.
   • Use debugging tools and techniques to diagnose and fix problems in your code.

8. Documentation and Optimization:

   • Document your code and system architecture to aid in understanding and future development.
   • Optimize your code for performance and efficiency where possible.

9. Community Engagement:

   • Engage with online communities and forums related to operating system development.
   • Seek advice, feedback, and support from experienced developers who have worked on similar projects.

10. Continuous Development:

• Operating system development is an ongoing process. Continue to iterate on your design, add new features, and improve existing functionality over time.

While AutoIt may not be the most suitable language for developing an operating system due to its high-level nature and limitations, attempting such a project could be a valuable learning experience and a testament to your programming skills and creativity. However, be prepared for a significant challenge, and expect the process to be complex and time-consuming.

Here's why developing a full-blown OS in AutoIt would be a monumental task, along with some more realistic ways to explore the idea:

Why AutoIt Falls Short

• High-level Focus: AutoIt is built for Windows automation tasks. It interacts with existing Windows components rather than dealing with the low-level hardware control an OS requires.
• Interpreted Language: AutoIt is interpreted, meaning it's translated to machine code at runtime. This can lead to performance bottlenecks, which are critical for an OS.
• Lack of Low-Level Tools: AutoIt's libraries and functions won't help for things like direct memory manipulation or device access.

Alternative Approaches

If you're fascinated by operating system development, here's what you could do with AutoIt as a starting point:

• Bootloader: Create a simple bootloader in Assembly (which AutoIt could interface with) that loads a more complex kernel or another small OS. This gets you hands-on with system startup logic.
• Minimal OS Kernel: Partner with someone using C or Assembly to build a barebones kernel. Design a higher-level AutoIt layer on top to manage system calls and add non-performance-critical functionality.
• OS Emulation: Write an AutoIt script that emulates the look and feel of a simple OS. Design a GUI, basic file system operations, etc. This focuses on user interaction concepts.

Languages & Resources

For real-world OS development, consider learning these:

• 😄 Industry standard for its efficiency and hardware control
• Assembly: Direct access to CPU instructions
• Rust: A newer language touting safety and control

Helpful Resources

• OSDev Wiki: (https://wiki.osdev.org/) A huge repository of knowledge
• "Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces" A highly recommended book (https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP/)
• Online Communities: Connect with enthusiasts on forums and subreddits dedicated to OS development

I suppose it isn't that funny, once long ago humans thought they could fly. Never the less, if you can dream it you can build it.

Edited February 26 by LAteNightSpecial

[argumentum]

47 minutes ago, LAteNightSpecial said:

Personally, I know more about machines than are publicly disclosed

I don't doubt that but, you are spamming the forum.
I believe that if is not a concrete functional down to earth question related to the current version of AutoIt, refrain from posting.

[LAteNightSpecial]

1 hour ago, argumentum said:

I don't doubt that but, you are spamming the forum.
I believe that if is not a concrete functional down to earth question related to the current version of AutoIt, refrain from posting.

Technically there is no such thing as down to Earth. Earth is basically a glorified asteroid floating around in the vastness of space with a fungi leeching off of it like a parasite to a host. Except the host is 100x stronger than the parasite that makes up less than 0.03% of existence. I've asked some valid questions, some to bend the limitations of the common thought process. All of my questions and contributions have been valid. If you are not going to contribute anything constructive to my coding questions, or be relevant to the topics. I would kindly suggest not speaking to me any further.

[Somerset]

Your borderline abusive attitude is going to wear thin quite quickly. I suggest stopping that.

[Jos]

*click* as this is going nowhere good !