I very briefly stalked their osdev forum posts. Looks like a hobby project with a focus on writing (their own?) audio/video playing (and maybe even editing?) software on top of it.
Based on their docs, it looks like it's not POSIX compatible and they seem to have their own core libs for everything. Unlikely that it will ever go beyond a hobby project but its a very neat dive. Years of work. Solo osdev-ers are beasts, that's why they do it all.
They are indeed, but this kind of tragic... I mean, all that skill, that knowledge, the experience - working on something which, almost by definition, very few people will be able to use (because people require lots of things from their OS + apps, so that such a project is extremely unlikely to meet all of those requirements). And even as inspiration for other developers and designers - the solo OS-developer is unlikely to spend the time elucidating their design choices and architecture, in documentation, presentations, talks etc.
And this is in contrast with the solo developer of a library or app, whose work is immediately usable by many even it's an undocumented black box... OSes are a team sport.
> I mean, all that skill, that knowledge, the experience - working on something which, almost by definition, very few people will be able to use.
This sentiment makes me sad. You can do things for fun, y'know? And when someone's just having fun, not hurting anyone, and being creative - that's got to be more than just tragic. It's basically the definition of a hobby.
You can me things for fun, but the language on the website is ridiculously bombastic for that: https://www.getxeneva.com/
I would also assume that a lot of these hobbyists are excellent engineers at their day jobs. While tons of the osdev work is going to be specific to osdev/hardware, tons of it will make you a better engineer.
The operating systems course I took in college was foundational to my understanding of how programs work and the memory model of modern computers.
> OSes are a team sport
The comment you’re replying to mentions osdev. If you’ve ever been an osdev-er, it’s more about personal growth and understanding OS development for yourself…
We are still allowed to do things for fun, right?
Well, yes, fair enough, but - if a multi-person-year project is just for fun and almost unusable by others, then - I feel it's a shame.