The 11.08 release brings unified workflows for all base platforms with a streamlined tooling support, enhanced documentation, and a new quality-assurance infrastructure as well as some functional additions.
With the version 11.08, the framework relieves the burden of using distinct base platforms with Genode by introducing a unified way to download, build, and use each of the kernels with Genode's user-level infrastructure. The new tools empower users of the framework to instantly change the underlying kernel without the need to know the peculiarities of the respective kernels. Using microkernels has never been easier.
The second challenge of translating each kernel's specific behaviour to the framework's unified API longs for an automated testing infrastructure that systematically exercises all the various facets of the API on all base platforms. The new version introduces the tooling support especially designed for conducting such quality-assurance measures.
Speaking of functional enhancements, the work on version 11.08 was focused on our block-device infrastructure and ARM support. The additions comprise new drivers for SD-cards, IDE, SATA, USB storage as well as a new partition server. All those components provide Genode's generic block interface, which is meant to be used a back end for file systems. On file-system level, a new libc plugin utilizes libffat to enable the straight-forward use of VFAT partitions by libc-using programs.
Additionally, the release brings far-reaching improvements with respect to ARM-based platforms. The paravirtualized L4Linux kernel has been updated to Linux version 2.6.39 running on both x86_32 and ARM. Also, Qt4 including Webkit has become functional on ARMv6-based platforms.
Read on about these and all additional changes in more detail in the release notes at http://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/11.08/