============================================== Genode Labs Newsletter - August/September 2011 ============================================== Content 1. Genode OS Framework 11.08 released 2. Android on top of Genode 3. User-level debugging on Genode via GDB 1. Genode OS Framework 11.08 released ------------------------------------- With the version 11.08 released in mid of August, the Genode OS frame- work has reached the ultimate goal to make the work with different kernels a seamless experience. Now all base platforms supported by the framework can be used with the same work flow. No kernel-specific knowledge is needed. This way, users of the framework can pick the kernel that fits best with each individual application scenario or simply test drive a new kernel without a big investment of time. For us Genode developers, the biggest immediate benefit is the vastly improved testability of the framework on different platforms. Thanks to the new version, we have been able to set up a facility for fully automated testing, which constantly exercises many key functionalities of the framework on 8 different base platforms, enabling us to maintain the quality of our software while its complexity is growing. In addition of the grand unification of platform support, the new version comes with enhanced device-driver support for ARM-based SoCs as well as major components of Genode's emerging block-device infra- structure. For the complete description of improvements and new features, please refer to the comprehensive release notes for version 11.08: http://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/11.08 2. Android on top of Genode --------------------------- As of today, Google's Android OS is apparently one of the hottest topics in the world of smartphones and tablets. Among the users of Genode, we recognise a general interest in combining the framework with the Android platform. With L4Android there already exists a special variant of the L4Linux kernel that is able execute the Android software stack on top of the Fiasco.OC kernel: http://l4android.org Our port of L4Linux to Genode in May has shown that L4Linux works well with Genode. Since L4Android is derived from L4Linux, we were confident that we could adapt L4LAndroid to Genode in a similar way. We are happy to report that this feature has now become available at our subversion repository. With the new support of L4Android on Genode, Android can be used on Genode on the Fiasco.OC kernel on the IA32 architecture. For those of you who are eager to experiment with L4Android on Genode, please find further information at the top-level README file of the 'ports-foc' repository and share your results with us at the Genode mailing list. 3. User-level debugging on Genode via GDB ----------------------------------------- Debugging applications on microkernel-based systems is known to be somewhat cumbersome. The various approaches range from using simple log messages to kernel debuggers. But for the most part, the power and convenience of debugging solutions known from commodity operating systems is missing on such platforms. To remedy this issue, we have created a new user-level debugging solution for Genode applications, which is based on the GNU debugger: http://genode.org/documentation/developer-resources/gdb This solution provides debugging instruments that we have desired for a long time such as the use of breakpoints, single-stepping through assembly instructions or at function level, source-level debugging, printing of backtraces and call-frame inspection, and observing different threads of a Genode process. In short, almost the whole toolbox of the GNU debugger is now at the disposal for Genode developers using the Fiasco.OC kernel. About the newsletter -------------------- If you have friends or colleagues who might be interested in our projects, we would appreciate you to forward this email. If you received this newsletter as a forwarded email, you may subscribe to the newsletter here: http://genode-labs.com/newsletter In the case of receiving this newsletter unintended, you can cancel your subscription at any time by replying to this email with the subject set to "unsubscribe". Best regards -- Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske Genode Labs http://www.genode-labs.com · http://genode.org Genode Labs GmbH · Amtsgericht Dresden · HRB 28424 · Sitz Dresden Geschäftsführer: Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske, Christian Helmuth
