Screenshot of MenuetOS
Currently, many of the operating system developments written from scratch are usually based on some high-level programming language, such as Rust, C, C++, Java, among others. But hearing about an OS that has been built from scratch using only assembly language, If it is something that is not heard every day and above all, it is something that draws a lot of attention.
As many of you know Low-level languages versus high-level languages have a series of advantages and disadvantages. one front of the other, but one of the most well-known and notable is the issue of portability (which also has its limitations in high-level languages), while on the other side of the coin the issue of speed, memory, maintenance, among other aspects.
It is because of that mentioned that hearing about an operating system written in assembly language is quite interesting and the project that we will talk a little about in this article is about MenuetOS, an operating system in development, built entirely in 64-bit assembly language.
About MenuetOS
MenuetOS is an operating system that with support for preventive and real-time multitasking, boot on UEFI systems, SMP on multi-core systems, support for multiple processors and an integrated graphical user interface. I also know It has a network stack and drivers for Loopback and Ethernet interfaces, with support for USB 2.0, including USB drives, printers, DVB tuners and webcams. Additionally, AC97 and Intel HDA (ALC662/888) support is provided for audio output.
The Menuet kernell just like the whole system, is written in assembler, lor that it provides one of the advantages of working with assembly language, which is speed over systems written in other languages. For example, the GUI with transparency is calculated directly on the main x86-64 CPU, avoiding compatibility issues with graphics cards. In addition to that, the project is developing its own X server and provides a graphical interface Integrated user interface that includes customizable themes, drag and drop operations, UTF-8 encoding, and keyboard layout switching.
Una of the distinctive advantages from Menuet is its ability to program in assembly, which allows developing applications that are faster, more efficient and consume less resources. For the development of applications in assembler, its own integrated development environment is offered.
On the other hand, it is mentioned that Menuet is not exclusively reserved for assembly programming, Ya que Its design favors 64/32-bit ASM programming. Menuet's application structure allows for the production of headers in virtually any other language, but its primary focus is on assembly programming. Menu programming in Menuet is quick and easy to learn, and its responsive GUI is assembly language manageable. Additionally, Menuet64 has the ability to run Menuet32 applications, expanding its versatility and compatibility.
In the area of applications, the project has developed a simple HTTPC web browser, mail and FTP clients, a VNC client, FTP and HTTP servers. It also has a basic package of multimedia applications (audio, video and image) and for text editing.
It is worth mentioning that In the development of the MenuetOS project, two editions are being worked on, which are one for 64 bits (Menuet64) which is distributed under a restrictive license and the other edition is the 62-bit one (Menuet32) which is distributed under the GPL license.
MenuetOS is currently under its version 1.50 and according to the change sheet in this version only updates, bug fixes, improvements, Fasm update to version 1.73.32 and the wallpaper were changed.
If you are interested in knowing more about it, you can consult the details in the following link.
Try MenuetOS
For those interested in trying this system, you should know that a floppy disk image and an ISO image are offered to burn to a CD that supports execution in VirtualBox. The link is this.