XOmB+Djehuty: a Remix OS for Computation Liberation

Presented with wolfwood - The open source world has been built on the promise of easier access to improvements, however code has not seen the type of remix culture one would expect to have naturally occurred. We present a design for a new system that encourages remix over reinvention.

Transcript

1. XOmB+Djehuty: a Remix
   OS for Computation
   Liberation
   @w0lfwood
   @wilkieii
   

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2. Look. Open source is amazing.
   ● the most important idea in software
   development
   ● results in not just tools, but a shared
   understanding of how they work, how to
   improve them
   ● the fruits of open source run the internet
   

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3. UNIX: the first Remix OS
   ● the oldest OS design still in widespread use
   (40+)
   ● highly influential in the design of all
   subsequent OSes (files, anyone?)
   ● the first major open source project
   ● a series of unfortunate events... then, Linux!
   

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4. UNIX-style Remix
   wolfwood@valkyrie ~ (valkyrie ) $ ps
   PID TTY TIME CMD
   25135 pts/2 00:00:00 zsh
   27949 pts/2 00:00:00 emacs
   28038 pts/2 00:00:00 ps
   wolfwood@valkyrie ~ (valkyrie ) $ kill 27949
   ● if you do something twice, Script It!
   

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5. UNIX-style Remix, Cont'd
   wolfwood@valkyrie ~ (valkyrie ) $ ps | grep
   emacs
   28816 pts/2 00:00:00 emacs
   wolfwood@valkyrie ~ (valkyrie ) $ ps | grep
   emacs | awk '{print $1}'
   28816
   

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6. UNIX-style Remix: Putting It All
   Together
   wolfwood@valkyrie ~ (valkyrie ) $ ps | grep
   emacs | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kill
   [1] + 28816 exit 15 emacs
   wolfwood@valkyrie ~ (valkyrie ) $ pkill emacs
   [1] + 31376 exit 15 emacs
   ● but, pkill was so useful it got rewritten in C
   instead of a script... no more reuse/remix
   

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7. However...
   ● Linux is just a reimplementation of UNIX
   ● Linux "evolves" only by adding layers on top
   of a rather large foundation decided upon 40
   years ago
   ● Can Linux be guided by the needs of
   individual users, or only large organizations
   due to its size?
   

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8. The Failed Democratization of
   Computing
   ● remember that awesome internet? why
   aren't we (systems programmers) modelling
   it?
   

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9. Redesign the Stack!
   ● make the foundation as small as possible
   ● allow finer grained control: reduce control ->
   increase possibility (aka flexibility)
   ● enable replacing of components over
   layering abstractions
   

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10. UNIX: its all about lying
    ● processes live in an
    imaginary computer
    ○ virtual memory
    ○ illusion of continuous execution
    

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11. Interrupts
    ● interrupts are how computers handle
    changes to external state (key presses,
    incoming network traffic, etc)
    ● the UNIX model is that all device interaction
    is managed in the OS and fed to applications
    only incidentally through abstractions (read
    data from disk, get suspended, get woken
    up when data is ready)
    

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12. Foundation: XOmB Kernel
    ● kernel does as little as possible
    ● kernel attempts to push device arbitration to
    applications
    ● kernel gets out of the way of application
    developers and lets them make decisions
    about their stack
    ● trust non-kernel things when safe to do so,
    don't hoard power
    

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13. What Comes of Flexibility?
    ● UNIX has to save and restore all CPU state
    when an interrupt occurs to preserve The Lie
    ● XOmB merely informs a process when an
    interrupt occurs
    ○ process can make better decisions, perhaps saving
    less state
    ● the system can only get faster due to
    cooperation
    

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14. Building upon a new platform
    Anything not performed by the kernel will be
    implemented by application developers.
    They have full control.
    Given that, we must build an OS that allows
    each individual the most power.
    

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15. Djehuty:
    A platform for the public domain
    Goals:
    ● Federated
    ● Individual has influence
    ● Good ideas propagate, bad ideas don't
    

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16. Breaking Things Down
    Modern Open Source is about implementing
    what already exists.
    It should be about refactoring for reuse. (code
    remix)
    You can build more with smaller blocks.
    So, break big things down to small things.
    

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17. Let's Sort
    Example! Let's teach a computer how to sort:
    We describe an interface
    You start with a name: "sort"
    You tell it what information it needs: "a list"
    You tell it what information it represents: "a list"
    sort(list) -> list
    

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18. Specifications
    Well, it could... give us any list.
    So, let's tell it what the result should look like.
    Give it rules that describe its behavior:
    ● Every item should be at least as large as the
    item that precedes it
    Computer now knows: Ascending order!
    

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19. Implementations
    Now somebody can write the code
    sort(list A) -> list {
    for i ← 1 to i ← length(A)-1 {
    valueToInsert ← A[i]
    A[i]=A[holePos] is now empty
    holePos ← i
    while holePos > 0 and valueToInsert < A[holePos - 1] {
    A[holePos] ← A[holePos - 1]
    holePos ← holePos - 1
    }
    A[holePos] ← valueToInsert
    }
    return A
    }
    

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20. Federation
    Distribute the system as a cooperative mesh:
    Each node is equal
    Social network?
    Share data, code,
    configurations,
    performance information
    

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21. Adding Rules
    Absolutely anybody could come along and add
    a new rule:
    ● Items of equal value maintain their original
    position
    This limits what implementations are deemed
    acceptable.
    This change may propagate if it is
    advantageous.
    

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22. This system...
    Has a foundation that gives power to
    applications (XOmB)
    Has an OS that gives that power to the
    individual (Djehuty)
    Everyone has equal power to change the API,
    the rules, and implement something new
    Every individual has control
    

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23. The result of which...
    Will remove much of the human opinion that
    impedes progress.
    Will aid in diversity by opening up control to
    those underrepresented in the open source
    world.
    Lower the barrier of entry and cost of owning
    and maintaining a system for developing
    cultures.
    

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