HalideOS

HalideOS - An Experimental OS from DSC KIIT #

DSC KIIT is thrilled to open source HalideOS, our first experimental operating system written entirely from scratch.

About HalideOS #

HalideOS is an experimental operating system written entirely from scratch. It supports a basic shell with some commands including a command-line calculator. You can boot it up and run it in a virtual machine.

It is a very basic and bare bones operating system with a total of around 2,500 lines of code developed in a few weeks of time. The main motive of this project was to demonstrate some basic principles and ideas of operating systems. Something small and understandable that beginners can read and make sense out of.

The bulk of HalideOS is written using C++17 with some x86 assembly code for the bootloader. We have also implemented a very basic standard library that developers can use to add commands to the shell.

Screenshots #

Please refer the Getting Started and Documentation sections of the site to read more about the design and the code.

Operating Systems Development #

The modern operating systems we use are a marvel of computer science and software engineering. If you are someone who takes a keen interest in understanding how computers ultimately work, you will really enjoy learning about developing operating systems.

Developing an operating system from scratch is one of the hardest tasks in computer science. It is considered a pinnacle of software engineering. It requires a good grasp of C/C++, x86 assembly language, processor architecture and memory. But it is not something that undergraduate students can’t do as we learn all these subjects as a part of our coursework.

This project is an attempt by DSC KIIT to introduce students to the fascinating domain of operating systems development.

Get Involved #

HalideOS is open-sourced under the MIT License, feel free to contribute interesting features and improvements on the GitHub Repository.

KIIT students who want to learn more about this domain can reach out to DSC KIIT or the original project members on Twitter or Instagram.

About the Creators #

This project was developed by Ujjwal Singh Shekhawat and Junaid Rahim. Both of them are second-year students in the CSE branch and members of the OS Team here at DSC KIIT.

Special thanks to Priyansi from the Content Team for helping out with this site and the documentation.