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Extensible

Any operating system (OS) can be extended before runtime, by two means: 1) Programming; if one has the source code, by programming (coding) and then compiling the new code into a new system, and/or, 2) Patches; by applying patches into a system.

Extensible OS is the accepted term for what can be more precisely and correctly termed a runtime extensible OS. In such systems, application and/or user software, with normal user privileges, can provide extensions to OS (kernel) functions during runtime to adjust OS behavior to application needs, with good safety, security, and efficiency (enough to be useful). Such runtime modifiability is similar to what a reflective OS allows, and can be viewed as a limited type of (application-level) OS reflectivity.

On this page, OSs are arranged in three groups and levels: 1) Top group: types or classes of OSs. 2) Middle group: OSs for which there are more than one instance of an OS of this name/type, an OS family. 3) Bottom group: specific OSs, individual instances; there is only one OS of this name/type.

Sites in Extensible

Extensible Operating Systems
Short, annotated, alphabetically sorted list and links, part of larger system.

SPIN
Dynamically extensible, Exokernel-based, provides many core services: scheduler, kernel threads, domains, event dispatcher, security mechanisms, primitive VM operations. Blurs distinction between kernels and applications, which traditionally live in user-level address spaces, separated from kernel resources and services by an expensive protection boundary. Lets applications specialize the kernel by dynamically linking new code into running systems.

Using Kernel Extensions to Decrease the Latency of User-Level Communication Primitives
Suggests solving networking and distributed systems latency via operating system extensibility; University of New Mexico Technical Report.

SPIN: Extensibility, Safety, and Performance in the SPIN Operating System
Presents an extensible OS based on MIT Exokernel that can be dynamically specialized to meet the needs of individual applications.

VINO
Extensible OS, high reusability and modularity, application-directed kernel policy, universal resource interface, take no usual solutions for granted (question everything): software and postscript downloads.

Synthetix
Extensible technology for adaptive systems: researching tools, techniques to incrementally specialize OSs to optimize performance, meta-programming languages to let applications declare specialization needs to OSs, and to specialize distributed systems to enhance survivability via code diversity and specialized response to intrusion.

Extensible Operating Systems
Brief description, and on-site links to descriptions of Choices, Exokernel, GLUnix, VINO, SPIN.

A Caching Model of Operating System Kernel Functionality
Stanford Cache Kernel, supervisor-mode component of V++ OS; caches system objects (threads, address spaces) to raise performance; microkernel alternative, performance equals normal monolithic OSs, yet gives application-level control of system resources, more modularity, scalability, smaller size, means of fault containment.

BITS
The Component Based Operating System: based on describing system resources as independent components, lets applications implement their own abstractions, define their own protection schemes, participate in resource management.

Open Kernel Environment: OKE
Lets non-root users load native, fully optimized code in kernels. OKE Corral: active network environment, lets 3rd-party code manage code organization at any level of nodes. LEGO-like model from MIT Click router. Description, papers, release page, contacts. [Open Source, GPL]