Difference between revisions of "ReactOS/History"
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Revision as of 04:06, 4 March 2012
ReactOS project since 1996
Before ReactOS
Around 1996 some people formed a group called FreeWin95, with the goal of implementing an operating system that would be a clone of Windows 95. Unfortunately, as with many ambitious new Open Source projects, it was stuck in a rut of endless talk about the design of the system, with no results.
ReactOS Beginnings
At the end of 1997, the project had burnt out with nothing to show. Jason Filby became project coordinator and called on everyone still subscribed to the list to revive the project. It was decided that the target should be Windows NT and that there would be an emphasis on results -- on written code rather than endless talk. The project was renamed ReactOS, since the operating system's roots grew out of a dissatisfaction with Microsoft's monopoly over the operating system market. In February 1998, ReactOS began.
Steep Climbing
The first few years of ReactOS were painfully slow, despite the large amounts of code that were being written. Only a few of the developers knew how to write kernel code. It was a time of only a few people writing the difficult kernel beginnings. Later, as the kernel became more complete and stable, basic drivers such as the IDE and keyboard drivers were written, and more people were able to get involved in development.
ReactOS today
Today the amount of developers is steadly increasing, the kernel has come a long way and is quite stable and many APIs are complete enough for higher level work to be done. Substantial work has been done on many libraries. Networking code is already here, allowing networking for those willing to play with the registry. The implementation of the Graphics Device Interface (GDI) and VGA and VBE graphics driver, OpenGL support and some part of support DirectX allow for runing games as Quake I-III, Unreal Tournament, Diablo 2. USB support has already been implemented, with USB keyboard and mouse support.
