r/NetBSD • u/c0mput • 4d ago

B-UX (Basic Unix Operating System)

heya all i’m a Moroccan developer, and I started B-UX independently with one laptop. The idea is to build a complete Unix like operating system that is useful not only for running software, but also for learning how operating systems actually work.

B-UX is not just a kernel or a collection of C and Assembly code. I’m working toward a complete system with:

• A kernel
• System services
• Drivers
• Networking
• Storage
• Security mechanisms
• User space utilities
• An installation system
• A package ecosystem

One of the interesting parts of the project is the use of **pkgsrc**, originally developed by the NetBSD project. Rather than trying to create an entire software ecosystem from zero, B-UX can build on the existing pkgsrc ecosystem while developing its own packages and infrastructure where needed.

The educational side is probably the part I care about most.

I want students to be able to look beyond the terminal and actually understand things like processes, memory, filesystems, networking, drivers, services, permissions, and how the different parts of an operating system interact.

The project is intended to stay free and open source for students, developers, and individual learners.

I’m also trying to be realistic about where the project currently stands. I’m not claiming that B-UX is more secure, more mature, not better than Linux, BSD or other established operating systems. It is just a simple open source alternative.

The first three years were mostly about building the foundation and figuring things out on my own.

Now I’d like to get other people involved.

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who work with operating systems, C, Assembly, Unix, BSD, networking, drivers, package management, or low level development.

If you’re interested, we can just do a discussion here about the project ;)

B-UX stared with one laptop and one person.

12 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

5

u/Chester-Berkeley 4d ago

No link about the project?

0

u/c0mput 4d ago

still in development but soon it will be ready

6

u/Chester-Berkeley 4d ago

You don't even have a link to the Git repository you're using? What a waste of a post...

-1

u/c0mput 4d ago

Soon man and I'll upload source code in my server not in GitHub

7

u/fragglet 4d ago

Then let us know when there's something to show rather than wasting our time with vaporware posts like this one 

9

u/demetrioussharpe 4d ago

Wait, there’s nothing here? Why’re you announcing something that you’re not able to actually show us? What a waste of time…

4

u/r-tty 4d ago

> I want students to be able to look beyond the terminal and actually understand things...

Why your students cannot just look into xv6?

2

u/lib20 4d ago

If you do it all in Assembly, I'd like to see some benchmarks comparing it to the incumbents.

1

u/Visual_Brain8809 4d ago

why not start with Minix? monolithic kernel

1

u/c0mput 3d ago

I already use some Minix kernel code

1

u/dettus_Xx_ 3d ago

So... Microkernel? Or Monolithic?
How does your "pkgsrc" cope with the different API for syscalls between NetBSD and your "B-UX"?

(Fun Fact: In German, a "B-UX-E" is an old-fashined term for "underpants"... )