Hello,
looking back at 2024 it mainly came as suspected in my previous road map mail. The suspend/resume work kept me busy until a first experimental version got added to Sculpt OS during the first part of the year. Later on, various customer related optimizing work took the rest of the first part. In the second part of the year, I mostly spent the time with the intel/display driver, on the one hand the upgrade to a newer Linux version and all the hazzle in getting all notebooks generations running again and on the second hand the adding of the multi-head support of the driver to Genode upstream.
My first year of Vbox deprivation went quite well for me, especially after adding the USB host model to Seoul and removing the "big" VMM lock in the Seoul frontend in the beginning of the year 2024. Even so I'm fine with the current state for my personal daily use, it became clear during discussions with others, that more "convenient" VMM models may help other users. Thanks to an intensive pre-xmas-one-weekend-day session with Josef, we have prototypes for virtio_net (Josef) and virtio_fs (me, aka get shared folder support), which waits to be finished as soon as time permits. Also, if I can effort it, I plan looking into Tianocore and how to add this to Seoul for UEFI boot support.
Additionally, I bought last year several network cards for my desktop system in order to play with SR-IOV and pass through into VMs on Genode. From my perspective, the feature is overdue and I would like to change this.
Another idea/topic, which may be worthwhile to play with, is, to move the intel/display driver out of the basic Sculpt image and load it as kind of on-demand second stage driver (as separate downloadable package). In the beginning, either the vesa or boot_fb driver can be used and should be sufficient. Later on, the Sculpt user may start resp. configure to use the intel/display driver and can make the change persistent in its configuration for the next boot. This would ease/pave the way for easier deployment of other display drivers like for NVIDIA or AMD. Well, and of course, same procedure as every year, I would like to pick up the work of Josef of amdgpu_fp_drv to get it up and running ...
Cheers,
Alex.
--
Alexander Boettcher
Genode Labs
https://www.genodians.org -
https://www.genode.org
On 23.12.24 17:43, Norman Feske wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> the turn of years is approaching, which prompts me to pick up our fine tradition of jointly brainstorming the topics of the year to come.
>
> Below, I'm not speaking for the project but share my personal perspective. Let me start with a brief reflection on 2024, followed by my ambitions for 2025.
>
>
> Review of 2024
>
> Following our past year's discussion, we settled on "Sculpt OS usability" as the primary focus for 2024. The items on the roadmap envisioned a broad variety of topics, ranging from challenging low-level mechanisms to end-user conveniences.
>
> From my perspective, the two biggest breakthroughs had been suspend/resume on x86 (added in May) and multi-monitor support (added in October). Both topics were not merely approached as singular features but as architectural enhancements. Suspend/resume challenged our perspective on driver life-cycles, externalizing state, device re-acquisition, up to the dynamic driver management by Sculpt OS. Our desire for multi-monitor support culminated in a largely redesigned GUI stack, as a system-holistic endeavor. Both lines of work made the architecture of Sculpt OS much stronger.
>
> Regarding my original plans for user conveniences (file browser etc.), I must declare defeat. Instead of working on these user-visible features, I turned a significant part of my attention to consolidation work: Gradually removing the use of C++ exceptions, cultivating C++20, improving code safety, and accelerating our workflows be refining our build system and tools.
>
> Outside my own working topics, I vastly enjoyed watching our team embracing DDE-Linux to full extent. Reflecting upon our small team's ability to track the current Linux kernel for our large driver base with such an agility makes me more than happy. A similar source of happiness is the way of how the Goa SDK and the new Applications book evolved. It reveals plainly and clearly how all the parts of the machinery fit super nicely together.
>
> Any regrets? Two things come into mind. First, my over-promising to deliver user conveniences. Topics like the on-target docs view or a file manager are user-visible and fun to build. But I was not able to justify prioritizing those over the work on framework internals as my core expertise. I somewhat regret having promised too much. Second, the PinePhone hasn't become a regular part of my life. That's not the fault of the PinePhone. But I came to terms that I may simply not be a phone person, never having owned a smart phone after all. Once I called the exciting ride of bringing Genode to the PinePhone a success, my personal motivation to push things further forward plummeted somewhat.
>
>
> My plans for 2025
>
> I want to focus my Genode work on rigidity, clarity, and performance.
>
> 1. Following my consolidation work of 2024, I long for getting the
> C++ runtime removed from the base framework. Another tempting
> idea for simplification is the merging of core's CPU service
> into the PD service. This work will make Genode more simple and
> thereby more trustworthy.
>
> 2. I'm very curious to explore the idea of replacing XML, outlined at
>
https://genodians.org/nfeske/2024-12-20-moving-on-from-xml
> If this goes as intended, Genode and Sculpt OS will gain in terms
> of interactive ergonomics, clarity, and joy to develop for.
>
> 3. Given how easy the porting of software has become, thanks to Goa,
> I'd strive for moving more of my work outside a Linux VM. For
> this, libraries like the libc and VFS require further optimization.
> This goes hand in hand with the need for better tools for analysing
> performance bottlenecks of complex dynamic workloads.
> As an iconic goal, it would be fantastic to have a simple version
> of Goa running directly on Sculpt OS by the end of 2025.
>
> In addition, I'd like to catch up on my plans of 2024 regarding user-visible Sculpt OS features, introducing a documentation view, a simple file manager, and a convenient way to save settings. I will also definitely wrap up the multi-monitor window management that I have built during the past two months.
>
>
> My wishes for 2025
>
> Outside the realm of my own working topics, I'd love to eventually switch to the base-hw kernel on my Framework laptop. I'd also highly appreciate an update of the Chromium engine for the Falkon web browser. Don't we all want to participate in
https://genode.discourse.group using a browser directly on Sculpt OS? ;-)
>
>
> What is your perspective on Genode in 2024 and for 2025?
>
> - Has Genode's development during 2024 been in your interest?
> - Or do you find important aspects neglected?
> - How was your practical experience with Genode in 2024?
> - Which directions would you regard as most exciting or pressing?
> - What are your personal interests and plans for 2025?
>
>
> I'm looking forward to learn about your experiences, plans, and ideas. Like every year, I'll do my best to distill a rough plan for 2025 out from our joint discussion. The road map will be finalized around mid of January.
>
> Cheers
> Norman
>
> Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske
> Genode Labs
>
>
https://www.genode-labs.com ·
https://genode.org
>
> Genode Labs GmbH · Amtsgericht Dresden · HRB 28424 · Sitz Dresden
> Geschäftsführer: Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske, Christian Helmuth
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--
Alexander Boettcher
Genode Labs
https://www.genodians.org -
https://www.genode.org
