Firstly, where do we go from here? As obvious as it sounds, the operating system won’t create itself.
There is a lot of hard work ahead. This is not limited to writing the code; there are also many design-related solutions to be found that are as yet unclear. (This will be discussed later on). Some of the solutions proposed in the current version of this document may also be revised. Besides this, data interfaces and module prototypes will have to be designed, which is not a trivial task. For example, creating an abstract API to handle documents independently from the format (to support HTML, PDF, DOC, DJVU and thousands of other formats) might take many months.
Another difficulty is introduced by the fact that existing software cannot be ported to Sivelkiria from other operating systems. In fact, drivers, file systems, GUIs, browsers, image viewers and editors, messengers, mail clients and many other programs have to be implemented from scratch. The need to design APIs for all these tasks might make you think of giving up the idea altogether.
In addition, there is a need to adapt programming languages to the new realities. The functionality related to console input / output and thread and process management that is present in most standard libraries, will not be available in Sivelkiria. Some other technologies (e.g. network support, GUI, graphics, etc.) are to be used in a completely different style. As a result, languages should abandon the existing way of interacting with the operating system and support working with object interfaces instead. Without this, the development of Sivelkiria would be out of the question.
The good news is that all this work has to be done just once. Compared to any classical operating system, Sivelkiria’s software would require much less work because code reuse is encouraged.
Obviously, the work will start with writing the kernel and development tools and gradually filling the system with modules until a working configuration is reached. This configuration will be capable of running both as a primary operating system on computers and mobile devices and as an agent for several popular operating systems.
At the same time, the legal issues will need to be worked out. In particular, the collaboration rules and responsibilities need to be clearly defined to make this format both viable and attractive for those developers who wish to join.
Once both the basic version and legal preparations are completed, the project can be run at its full capacity, with the ability to use Sivelkiria both as a host operating system and as an agent. Software will be added to the repository and installed to the local devices. Developers will be able to work with the operating system support team to maintain the API. From this point, the project will start its journey, and all the features described in this document will be tested.
Will users and developers appreciate this approach? Will the project’s infrastructure grow and develop?
There are two possible options. If everything goes well, then Sivelkiria will take its rightful place in the IT world and become a popular way to organize interaction between software products. Of course, this will not happen immediately: the first available software will attract its first users, and so on. As a result, after a certain critical mass of users is accumulated, the key players will join the game to avoid losing their share of the new market. Then Sivelkiria will become a mass-market product. New devices will have it pre-installed by default, and so on.
However, the project might fail to gain popularity. In this case we can reassure ourselves that at least we have tried to make the world better, which is much more interesting than churning out formulaic solutions in order to give one company a market advantage over another.
There is one subtlety here that significantly increases the project’s chances of survival. One of Sivelkiria’s strengths is its capability to effectively exchange data between its components. All programs created for it have the same advantage. Thus, if the OS kernel is implemented with some marketable business logic in mind, its programs will have a trump card up their sleeve. The agent-based distribution format is unlikely to scare anyone away. More probably, it might remain unnoticed or seen as another marketplace.
If we initially target business users, they should quickly realize that Sivelkiria can cut their expenses and they will become interested in transferring more software to this OS, which is beneficial for the project. However, this does not necessarily have to be all about business: if the project has something to offer the average user (e.g. some one-of-a-kind games), this will increase its chances of success, even if initially it might be taken as the new “Steam”.
Will Sivelkiria be free or commercial? At the moment, there is no answer to this question. Of course, it would be good to attract investment and develop the new project for our own benefit. On the other hand, as practice shows, open-source solutions can compete with closed-source ones, and the form of distribution is not the key success factor here.
Currently we are open for any collaboration, both commercial and non-commercial. If you wish to join the project, we would be happy to collaborate. Our contacts can be found here.