Using unmodified Linux drivers in ROS and WIndows

Here you can discuss ReactOS related topics.

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
alexei2
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2021 2:07 pm

Using unmodified Linux drivers in ROS and WIndows

Post by alexei2 »

Most of it is already written and it's open source :D

1. There is a linux kernel ported to run natively in Windows
http://www.andlinux.org/
http://www.colinux.org/

2. QEMU provides drivers for windows guests to acces virtual devices provided by host OS.
QEMU emulators provide virtual devices to VMs.
https://www.qemu.org/

3. The only work to do is to merge colinux and regular linux kernels so that "regular linux" code would handle devices, such as HDD, USB, video, etc. and "coLinux" code would allow emulators to work in windows environment.
It's not going to be guest-host relations, but co-existance instead.

ROS requests to devices supported by linux would flow like that:
ROS <--> QEMU guest driver (win) <--> QEMU host emulator (lin) <--> merged linux kernel <--> device

Whole combined linux would run as windows boot-time driver (or service?).
For each device ROS-native or virtualized driver can be chosen.
It may be some challenges with interrupt handling - some of hardware interrupts coming to ROS/Win should be somehow transferred to linux.

This should work in both ROS and MS Windows.
It would allow XP/2003 to run on modern hardware.
It would allow ROS to work with all devices supported by Linux.

Wouldn't it be exciting exercise to build such stuff?
User avatar
dizt3mp3r
Posts: 1873
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 5:54 pm

Re: Using unmodified Linux drivers in ROS and WIndows

Post by dizt3mp3r »

Possibly, for those interested. Would require a lot of work, would need people who are interested and have the skills - and of course, taking on more work when ReactOS is still very incomplete would be a needless distraction. The developers have a vast list of tasks in their current task list. One day perhaps.
Skillset: VMS,DOS,Windows Sysadmin from 1985, fault-tolerance, VaxCluster, Alpha,Sparc. DCL,QB,VBDOS- VB6,.NET, PHP,NODE.JS, Graphic Design, Project Manager, CMS, Quad Electronics. classic cars & m'bikes. Artist in water & oils. Historian.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 37 guests