On August 31st, 2009, the new version of Linux Unified Kernel (Longene) 0.2.4.1 is released. In this release, we updated the kernel patch and module based on Linux 2.6.30, so it will support more features that the new kernel brings. Meanwhile, we fixed some bugs in registry management, process management and synchronization in the previous version (0.2.4).
In this release, both source code package and binary packages are provided for some popular distributions, like Redflag 6, Fedora, Ubuntu.
In the future the following will be added to Linux Unified Kernel:
o SMP support
o File System Improvement.
o Bug Fix for Pthread TLS.
o Windows Application Testbed.
o Various system call functions on the Windows syscall interface.
o The WDM device driver framework.
o The Windows DPC mechanism.
o Exported kernel functions defined by Windows DDK.
o Others.
Linux Unified Kernel (also known as LUK or Longene) is a computer operating system kernel intended to be binary-compatible with application software and device drivers made for Microsoft Windows and Linux.
The LUK project aims to add all Windows kernel mechanisms into the Linux kernel, including Process management, Thread management, Object management, virtual memory management, Synchronization, System calls (Syscall), Windows Registry, WDM (Device driver framework), Windows DPC mechanism, etc., to form a new kernel. Thus, the new kernel allows both Linux and Windows applications and device drivers to work directly without virtualization or emulation.
But LUK is not simply an accumulation of the two kernels. In order to prevent LUK from becoming bloated, if a function has been completed in the ReactOS kernel, and it can also be achieved using the Linux kernel (ReactOS/Wine/NDISwrapper code as a reference if they have implemented the function), then LUK prefers to use the latter.
LUK has two sets of syscalls and their corresponding syscall tables: a Windows syscall set and a Linux syscall set. Windows applications call the syscall table via software interrupt "int 0x2e" to make a system call. Linux applications call syscall table via "int 0x80".
The LUK project does not develop the Windows and the Linux userland libraries. Those libraries are offered by the Wine (or Microsoft Windows/ReactOS) project and the Linux project.
The product of the LUK project is patches for the Linux kernel. The LUK developers expect those patches to eventually merge into the Linux kernel main tree. So that the developers who are accomplisheded in working for Windows platform will develope the applications and device drivers for linux platform or port their products to linux platform with a low cost. They and the linux users will benefit from the LUK project directly.
LUK is primarily written in the C programming language, and is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Although the project is in the alpha development stage as of 2009, many Windows programs already work well.
The version 0.2.4.1 of LUK source and .rpm and deb install packs are available from the following locations:
http://www.longene.org/en/download.php
LUK is a developing project and it is improved every day. You can get its newest codes from its CVS database. The CVS server IP is 218.108.51.90:2401 court:anonymous key:anonymous.
The LUK official website:
http://www.longene.org/en/
Any question? Post it to the LUK forum please:
http://www.unifiedkernel.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=19
You will learn more about LUK on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Unified_Kernel
LUK is available thanks to the work of many people.
