QSOE
A QNX-inspired operating system with selectable kernels.
QSOE ships in two variants that share one userspace and one build system. QSOE/N runs on Skimmer, a microkernel written from scratch for this project (SMP by design); QSOE/L runs on seL4 as its kernel.
Both variants, when compiled, offer the kernel and initrd files directly usable in
e.g. U-Boot loader. The userspace is 100% identical across
both variants; the only parts produced per-kernel are taskman, the task
manager, and libc.so — the C library, which is around 85% shared at the source
level and diverges only at the thin layer where it meets the kernel.
The design follows the QNX Neutrino tradition: a small kernel with everything else in userspace, synchronous message-passing IPC, and the resource-manager model for services.
QSOE targets 64-bit RISC-V (RV64, Sv39) on the SiFive HiFive
Unmatched (FU740), with QEMU used for day-to-day development. QSOE/N now boots
on real hardware. Released under Apache-2.0.
Installation
Information will be added soon.
Documentation
Information will be added soon.
Additional resources
Information will be added soon.
Other projects
Earlier and adjacent work.
- GateMate PC — a personal computer built on the Cologne Chip GateMate FPGA.
- GateMate System/359 — an IBM S/360-inspired FPGA implementation of a computing system, with I/O channels and a powerful macroassembler.
- QRV — a QNX port to RISC-V (historical); fed hardware bring-up lessons into QSOE/N.
Services
Consulting and development in low-level and systems software.
- Microkernel-based operating systems
- System libraries and low-level runtime
- Virtualization for real-time applications
- RISC-V systems bring-up
- AI-assisted development for FPGAs
Engagements range from focused bring-up work to longer-term architecture and implementation. Get in touch to discuss scope.
About
QSOE Systems is the independent practice of Yuri Zaporozhets, a systems software developer with 25+ years of experience building low-level software — kernels, operating systems, runtimes, and the hardware bring-up underneath them.
Contact
Email is the best way to reach me.