AtheOS

From ArticleWorld

AtheOS is an x86, Unix-like operating system, started by Kurt Skauen. Initially, AtheOS was intended to be an AmigaOS clone, but, as development progressed, this was abandoned and AtheOS became a complete desktop system on its own.

AtheOS was started in 1994 and development continued until the early 2000, when it was announced publicly. Although the license was open-source, Kurt Skauen was very reluctant in accepting code from the public. Not long after, he also stopped working on AtheOS, and the project is currently considered to be dead or sleeping for a very long time.

AtheOS was still important though. Its source code stood at the base of Syllabe, a similar and quite successful effort.

Features

AtheOS, although not revolutionary in itself, was considered to be a very interesting project. It was especially praised for its C++ API and its file system, a very secure and stable journalized file system called AFS (AtheOS File System).

AtheOS featured almost complete POSIX compliance, pre-emptive multitasking and multithreading, with full support for SMP systems.

AtheOS did not use X11, but instead featured its own windowing system. Although this meant a quite serious speed boost for the GUI and an elegant C++ API, it was also the reason why AtheOS never had too many applications. The GUI architecture was a well standardized and robust object-oriented one, complementing the C++ API and making it a good choice for many programmers.