Announcement: Genode OS Framework version 11.08 released

[Stefan Kalkowski]

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/

-- 
Stefan Kalkowski
Genode Labs

http://www.genode-labs.com/ · http://genode.org/

Genode Labs GmbH · Amtsgericht Dresden · HRB 28424 · Sitz Dresden
Geschäftsführer: Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske, Christian Helmuth