.NET ShortCut

http://research.microsoft.com/os/singularity/

This is just a little brief about the new OS :

Singularity is a new operating system being developed as a basis for more
dependable
system and application software [28]. Singularity exploits advances in
programming languages
and tools to create an environment in which software is more likely to be
built correctly, program
behavior is easier to verify, and run-time failures can be contained.

A key aspect of Singularity is an extension model based on Software-Isolated
Processes
(SIPs), which encapsulate pieces of an application or a system and provide
information hiding,
failure isolation, and strong interfaces. SIPs are used throughout the
operating system and
application software. We believe that building a system on this abstraction
will lead to more
dependable software.

SIPs are the OS processes on Singularity. All code outside the kernel
executes in a SIP. SIPs
differ from conventional operating system processes in a number of ways:
- SIPs are closed object spaces, not address spaces. Two Singularity
processes cannot
simultaneously access an object. Communications between processes transfers
exclusive
ownership of data.
- SIPs are closed code spaces. A process cannot dynamically load or generate
code.
- SIPs do not rely on memory management hardware for isolation. Multiple
SIPs can reside
in a physical or virtual address space.
- Communications between SIPs is through bidirectional, strongly typed,
higher-order
channels. A channel specifies its communications protocol as well as the
values
transferred, and both aspects are verified.
- SIPs are inexpensive to create and communication between SIPs incurs low
overhead.
Low cost makes it practical to use SIPs as a fine-grain isolation and
extension
mechanism.

- SIPs are created and terminated by the operating system, so that on
termination, a SIP's
resources can be efficiently reclaimed.
- SIPs executed independently, even to the extent of having different data
layouts, run-time
systems, and garbage collectors.

SIPs are not just used to encapsulate application extensions. Singularity
uses a single
mechanism for both protection and extensibility, instead of the conventional
dual mechanisms of
processes and dynamic code loading. As a consequence, Singularity needs only
one error
recovery model, one communication mechanism, one security policy, and one
programming
model, rather than the layers of partially redundant mechanisms and policies
in current systems.
A key experiment in Singularity is to construct an entire operating system
using SIPs and
demonstrate that the resulting system is more dependable than a conventional
system

There are a lot more in the report on the research site

# posted by test2512 @ 4:40 PM