The talk demonstrates the Genode-based operating system as routinely used by the Genode developers. The starting point is a generic and fairly minimalistic base system, which is then live shaped into different forms using a plain text editor. Along the way, many features of Genode come into play, eventually forming a usable system.
Over the past decade, the Genode OS Framework has evolved from a research prototype to a practical operating-system foundation. This is evidenced by the Genode developers who use the system day to day. Being a component-based system designed after the principle of least privilege from the very beginning, it breaks with many concepts that we take for granted in traditional operating systems, e.g., the central role of files. Instead, Genode introduces a novel way of composing system scenarios out of building blocks where the building blocks are able to cooperate without ultimately trusting each other.
The composition of Genode systems used to be defined at system-integration time before booting the system. However, Genode also allows completely dynamic compositions where the system's behavior and structure can be changed at runtime. This ability is the basis for the use of Genode as a general-purpose OS. The talk introduces Sculpt, which is the designated blue-print for interactive and fully dynamic Genode systems.
Speakers: Norman Feske