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Road map for 2021

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@@ -14,121 +14,92 @@ The road map is not fixed. If there is commercial interest of pushing the
Genode technology to a certain direction, we are willing to revisit our plans.
Review of 2019
Review of 2020
##############
For the road map 2019, we picked "bridging worlds" as our guiding theme:
(1) Lowering the friction when combining existing software with Genode,
(2) Fostering interoperability with widely used protocols and APIs, and
(3) Making Genode easier to approach and generally more practical.
The overarching theme of our road map for 2020 was "Dwarfing the barrier of
entry", which expressed the ambition to reach a wider audience. On that
account, we identified four promising directions: First, making Sculpt OS
palatable for a wider circle. Second, fostering the public perception of the
high quality of Genode to reinforce the confidence of people who are sceptical
towards novel operating-system technology. Third, lowering the barrier of
entry by providing frictionless tooling. And fourth, publicly presenting use
cases that prove the fitness and flexibility of Genode. These directions
certainly did a good job of motivating the working topics of last year's four
releases
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/20.02 - 20.02],
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/20.05 - 20.05],
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/20.08 - 20.08], and
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/20.11 - 20.11].
With respect to (1), we identified Genode's custom tooling (build
system, run scripts, ports mechanism, depot tools) as a point of
friction. They are arguably powerful and flexible but require a lot of
up-front learning. This is certainly a burden unacceptable for a casual
developer without a black belt in Make and Expect/Tcl. The new
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/19.11#New_tooling_for_bridging_existing_build_systems_with_Genode - Goa]
tool rearranges the existing tools in a way that puts the concerns of casual
developers into focus, allowing for the use of commodity build systems,
eliminating Tcl syntax from the equation, running sub-second test cycles, and
streamlining the packaging of software.
The UI improvements of Sculpt OS in version 20.02 largely eliminated the need
to use the command line as presented
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmgWgzeKAjU - here].
The second direction - software quality - motivated the steady improvements of
our POSIX runtime, ultimately enabling highly sophisticated workloads like the
Chromium web engine on Genode. Regarding our stated commitment to 64-bit ARM
hardware, in particular supporting the NXP i.MX8 SoC, we covered 64-bit
multi-core virtualization, HDMI, touch input, OLED, networking, LTE, USB,
clock and power management, VirtIO, up to running Sculpt OS on this platform.
On account of (2), we
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/19.05#Broadened_CPU_architecture_support_and_updated_tool_chain - switched to C++17]
by default, fostered the use of
[https://genodians.org/ssumpf/2019-02-27-java-19-02 - Java],
updated Qt5, and put
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/19.11#C_runtime_with_improved_POSIX_compatibility - POSIX]
compatibility into the spotlight. We were eventually able to dissolve the need
for our custom Unix runtime (Noux) because all features of Noux are covered by
our regular libc now.
Our biggest step towards (3) is the [https://genodians.org] website we
started in winter 2019, which gives individual members of our community
an easy way to present thoughts, projects, and experiences.
Complementing Genode's formal documentation, it also conserves practical
tips and tricks that were previously not covered in written form.
When speaking of "bridging worlds", we should not forget to mention the
tremendous effort to bring Sculpt-OS-like workloads to the 64-bit ARM world.
Thanks to the added support for
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/19.08#64-bit_ARM_and_NXP_i.MX8 - multi-core AARCH64],
hardware-based
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/19.11#Virtualization_of_64-bit_ARM_platforms - virtualization],
and network/USB/graphics drivers for the i.MX8 SoC, the flexibility of Sculpt
OS will eventually become available on PC hardware and ARM-based devices
alike.
Over the course of 2019, we admittedly skipped a few topics originally
mentioned on our road map. In particular, the user-visible side of
Sculpt OS received less attention than originally envisioned. We also
deferred several ideas we had in mind about reworking our GUI stack.
Instead, we expanded our work in the areas of storage (block-level APIs,
test infrastructure,
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/19.11#Preliminary_block-device_encrypter - block encryption])
and
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/19.08#Flexible_keyboard_layouts - input processing].
This shift of focus is mostly attributed to the priorities of Genode Labs'
customers who fund our work.
Granted, Genode's audience hasn't increased by a large margin as a direct
result of these efforts. But as illustrated by the fruitful road-map
discussion for 2021 on the
[https://genode.org/community/mailing-lists - mailing list],
our community is more engaged and enthusiastic than ever before.
2020 - Dwarfing the barrier of entry
####################################
2021 - Optimization and Platform diversity
##########################################
Genode as a technology is there. For more than one decade, we walked unfathomed
territory, fought with countless deep rabbit holes, took risky decisions,
tracked back, explored design spaces, developed taste and distaste, pruned
technical debt, and eventually found formulas of success. Today, there are no
(fundamental) unsolved questions. All the puzzle pieces are in place. There
could be no better proof than our daily use of Sculpt OS. The time is right
to make Genode palatable for a wider circle. We identified four actionable
topics to achieve that.
For the initial conquering of 64-bit ARM territory, restraining our focus to
one particular SoC - namely NXP i.MX8 - was a healthy approach. Now it is the
right time to optimize and to branch out the development to further
platforms. The following key aspects of our road map for 2021 reflect that.
:User friendliness of Sculpt OS:
:Pinephone:
By the end of the year, we want be able to use Genode on the
[https://pine64.com/product-category/pinephone/ - Pinephone]
as a feature phone, covering basic web-browsing needs, placing calls, and
SMS.
Until now, Sculpt OS is not exactly friendly towards users who are
unfamiliar with the Unix command-line tools. Since Sculpt is not Unix
based, this is a bit paradoxical. 2020 will give Sculpt OS a friendlier
and discoverable user experience. In this context, we will inevitably
put our attention to Genode's GUI stack.
:Linux-device-driver environment re-imagined:
We are convinced that we have to dramatically reduce the engineering
effort needed to port device drivers from the Linux kernel to Genode. With
many years of driver-porting experience under our belts, we plan to condense
the lessons learned in the form of new tooling and documentation. This, in
turn, will hopefully pave the ground for more and more developers
contributing to Genode's device-driver coverage in the future.
:Perception of high quality:
:Developer experience:
Speaking of new developers, we see Genode's existing tool set as a barrier
because it requires a rather steep learning curve. Hence, this year, we will
have a fresh take on tooling and workflows. The starting point will be the
experimental [https://github.com/nfeske/goa - Goa] tool, which in principle
allows developers to use familiar build systems for Genode development. We
plan to extend Goa to cover more build systems, and shape the tool towards
system-integration tasks and quick compile-test cycles targeting embedded
devices.
Compared to commodity operating systems who stood the test of time,
Genode is a young and largely unproven technology. It understandably calls
for skepticism. All the more we must leave no doubts about our high
quality standards. There must be no room for uncertainty. Hence, during
2020, we will intensify the consolidation and optimization of the framework
and its API, and talk about it.
:Optimization:
Motivated by usage scenarios like the Pinephone, we are eager to tap into
plenty of opportunities for optimization. Based on data gathered by improved
system tracing, we consider interface refinements to improve the batching of
I/O (file-system access, networking), micro-optimizations of hot code paths
(like TLS lookup, parsers, and allocators), as well as structural changes
(like the consolidation of low-level services).
:Enjoyable tooling:
Genode's success at large will depend on developers. As of today, software
development for Genode requires a huge up-front learning curve. This is
fine for people who are already convinced of Genode. But it unacceptable
for casual developers who want to get their toes wet. We should aim for
tooling that allows new developers to keep up their flow and beloved
tools. The recently introduced [https://genodians.org/nfeske/2019-11-25-goa - Goa]
tooling is our first take in this respect. It is certainly too early to call
Goa a success. In order to find out if we are on the right track, we want to
expose Goa to as many problems as possible, primarily by the means of
porting software. Also, things like IDE usage or adapters for a variety of
build systems will certainly move into focus in 2020.
:Convincing use cases:
Use cases can give exemplary proof of the fitness of Genode. We already
took a few baby steps to extend the range of documented use cases beyond
Sculpt OS last year. The boot2java scenenario comes in mind. 2020 will
hopefully see several more illustrations of Genode's versatility.
:GPU support:
Distantly related to optimization, GPU support is an increasingly requested
feature. We already
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/17.08#Hardware-accelerated_graphics_for_Intel_Gen-8_GPUs - wetted our toes]
in the past. But GPU support has not yet become routinely supported in
system scenarios like Sculpt OS. In 2021, we want to change that, making GPU
support a feature that can be relied on. We will primarily address Intel
graphics first but also explore GPUs on ARM-based devices.
Apart from this overall theme, we plan to continue our commitment to the
NXP i.MX SoC family, revisit Genode's low-latency audio support, and
extend the cultivation of Ada/SPARK within (and on top of) Genode.
Milestones for 2020
Milestones for 2021
###################
In the following, we present a rough schedule of the planned work. As usual,
@@ -136,64 +107,65 @@ it is not set in stone. If you are interested in a particular line of work,
please get in touch.
February - Release 20.02
February - Release 21.02
========================
* Consolidation: removal of the Noux runtime
* Library version of the init component
* Updated audio drivers
* Sculpt
* 64-bit ARM (i.MX8)
* Revised administrative user interface
* System image without Unix tools
* Pluggable device drivers (NIC, WLAN, framebuffer, input)
* VirtualBox 6
* Sculpt: basic UI for the consistent block encrypter (CBE)
* 64-bit ARM
* VirtIO block-device support for virtual machines
* Base platform support for the Pine A64 board (kernel base framework)
May - Release 20.05
May - Release 21.05
===================
* Updated "Genode Foundations" book
* Consolidation
* Block-level components (update to Genode's modern block APIs)
* ARM device drivers (introducing the notion of a platform driver)
* Improved STL support (e.g., threading and mutexes)
* Continuous POSIX-compliance testing
* Systematic network-stack stress and performance tests
* Desktop: panel and virtual desktops
* Use case: Genode-based network router
* Goa: broadened support for 3rd-party build systems
* Native tool chain, including Git
* Sculpt
* Interactive device management
* Keyboard-controlled administration
* Support for BSPs maintained outside of Genode's mainline repository
* Annual documentation update, including the "Genode Foundations" book
* GPU support
* MESA update
* Experiments on ARM (e.g., Vivante on i.MX8, or Mali-400 on A64)
* Sculpt OS on Pine A64 (USB, input, framebuffer, SD-card, networking)
* 64-bit ARM
* Platform-driver consolidation between ARM and x86
* PCI-express support for MNT Reform (i.MX8)
* Tool-chain update (e.g., switching to hard-float on ARM)
* Modernized client-side NIC and uplink APIs
* Goa
* Broadened architecture support and testing workflow
* API projects
* Inter-project dependencies
August - Release 20.08
August - Release 21.08
======================
* Revisited GUI-related framework interfaces
* Extended tooling for performance monitoring
* Goa: Qt development workflow
* Desktop
* Native mail client
* Native web browser
* Sculpt
* Configurable CPU resources
* On-screen documentation
* Block encryption via our
[https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/19.11#Preliminary_block-device_encrypter - consistent block encrypter]
implemented in Ada/SPARK
* USB audio
* Initial version of a kernel implemented in Ada/SPARK
* Linux DDE re-imagined
* Improved tooling
* Exploring Goa-based development workflow
* GPU support
* GPU multiplexer for Intel Gen9 graphics
* Harmonization of GPU driver with Intel framebuffer driver
* Initial version of a custom kernel (Spunky) implemented in Ada/SPARK
* System-level tracing infrastructure for guiding and validating optimizations
* Pinephone
* Touchscreen and display
* Mobile web browser
* Goa
* CMake-based Qt5 applications
* QML-based applications
November - Release 20.11
November - Release 21.11
========================
* Consolidation of capability-space management across kernels
* CPU-load balancing
* Hardware-accelerated graphics on i.MX8 (experimental)
* Reworked audio stack (interfaces, mixing)
* Sculpt: component lifetime management, shutdown protocol
* VFS plugins for lwext4 and FUSE-based file systems
* Pinephone
* Mobile data connectivity (LTE)
* Phone calls (audio)
* SMS
* seL4
* Update to current kernel version, MCS scheduling
* Combining CAmkES with Genode
* SMMU (I/O-MMU for ARM) support for our custom (base-hw) kernel
* Multi-monitor support