Writing a Unix clone in about a month (drewdevault.com)

Article summary

The article discusses a Unix clone written in about a month, leveraging a previously developed kernel implementation called Helios. The creator of the clone has experience with operating system development, having written an OS in Z80 assembly over a decade ago. The clone is written in a new programming language called Hare. The project's code is available under the GPLv3 license.

Main themes

• Unix clone development
• Hare programming language
• Operating system design
• Free and open-source software
• Programming language design choices

What commenters say

• The creator's experience and talent, built over years, were crucial to completing the Unix clone in a short time frame.
• The use of a previously developed kernel implementation was a key factor in the project's rapid development.
• Some commentators argue that making a Unix clone is a typical undergraduate project and not necessarily a remarkable achievement.
• The Hare language's design choices, such as lacking multithreading support and not officially supporting Windows or macOS, are seen as both reasonable and limiting by different commentators.
• The decision to not support non-free operating systems is viewed as a principled stance by some, while others see it as an arbitrary restriction.
• The importance of parallelism and multithreading in modern programming is highlighted as a potential drawback of the Hare language.
• The value of focusing on a specific platform, such as Linux, is debated, with some seeing it as a necessary scope limitation and others as an ideological choice.
• The availability of the project's code under the GPLv3 license is noted, allowing others to potentially maintain ports to other platforms.