froggey/Mezzano
Mezzano
Mezzano is a self-hosted operating system written entirely in Common Lisp. It employs a language-integrated kernel architecture where both the kernel and user-space applications execute within a single, unified high-level language runtime.
The system is designed for both bare-metal environments, booting from physical external media, and as a guest operating system within virtual machine software. It implements symmetric multiprocessing to distribute computational workloads across multiple CPU cores.
The environment includes capabilities for automated memory recovery via generational garbage collection, network traffic routing through DHCP and TCP, and disk file system mounting for formats such as FAT32 and EXT2/3/4. It also features a graphical user interface with window management and hardware-accelerated 3D rendering.
For system diagnostics, the project provides tools for memory fault recovery and program execution inspection through interactive editors and disassembly.
Features
- Language-Integrated Kernels - Employs a language-integrated kernel architecture where both the kernel and user-space applications execute within a single, unified Common Lisp runtime.
- Unified Runtime Environments - Runs both the kernel and user-space applications within a single, unified Common Lisp runtime environment.
- Common Lisp Implementations - Implements a full system environment based on the Common Lisp language and standard.
- Bare Metal Environments - Creates a computing environment capable of booting on physical hardware and interfacing directly with drivers.
- Bare-Metal Runtimes - Provides a runtime and kernel environment that interfaces directly with physical hardware without a host OS.
- Bare Metal Kernels - Implements a low-level kernel that interfaces directly with physical hardware and processor instructions.
- Common Lisp Operating Systems - A complete self-hosted operating system written entirely in the Common Lisp language.
- Memory Allocation Management - Implements automated memory recovery using a generational garbage collector and specialized allocators.
- Multi-Core Workload Distribution - Distributes computational tasks across multiple processor cores using symmetric multiprocessing to increase execution speed.
- Symmetric Multiprocessing Mechanisms - Implements kernel-level symmetric multiprocessing to distribute computational workloads across multiple CPU cores.
- Symmetric Multiprocessing Models - Designed as an operating system that manages workloads and state across multiple processing cores in a shared-memory system.
- Language-Integrated Architectures - Employs a language-integrated architecture allowing deep introspection and debugging of the kernel within the runtime.
- Hardware-Accelerated Rendering - Renders three-dimensional visuals using hardware acceleration via virtualized graphics devices.
- Network Traffic Routing - Manages network connectivity using DHCP and TCP retransmission to maintain stable communication.
- Memory Fault Recovery - Traps stack overflows and memory faults to allow the system to recover without crashing.
- File System Mounts - Supports reading and writing data using common disk formats including EXT2/3/4 and FAT32.
- Runtime Execution Inspection - Analyzes running code through disassembly tools and interactive editors to observe system behavior.
- Virtual Machine Guest Operating Systems - Provides a system environment capable of running as a guest within virtualization software for low-level research and testing.
- Guest OS Hosting - Supports running the entire system environment as a guest operating system within virtualization software.
- Generational Garbage Collection - Employs a generational garbage collection strategy to optimize memory reclamation by separating objects by age.
- System Object Introspection - Provides the ability to analyze and debug the system state directly through the high-level language runtime.
- Machine Code Generators - Translates high-level Common Lisp source code directly into native machine instructions for physical hardware execution.
- Window Managers - Provides a graphical user interface with window management, including transparency and alpha blending.
