isgasho / lateral Goto Github PK

Lateral is a work-in-progress multitasking monolithic kernel + OS meant as a fun summer project.

It has recently expanded into more than I could imagine, and I'm looking to implement a fully usable operating system in the future.

The Window Manager

Lateral's window manager contains a floating, widget-based desktop with custom syntax for defining window attributes and widgets via. Rust's macro system. Titles and (in the future) menu actions are displayed at the top blackout bar.

Screenshot of the Lateral window manager (taken in v0.2.1)

Core Design

Windows can be controlled without a mouse in Normal Mode using the WASD keys, and the command-bar can be activated using TAB. Press SPACE to focus a window, which will capture all input. ESC will exit Focus Mode.

The command-bar is an essential design component inspired by apps like Krunner. While typing, the command-bar expands to show command parameters and a preview of the output (configured using the Lateral API). Commands return results via. a new window instead of plain text. This serves as a hybrid of the terminal and modern window managers, allowing all apps to provide output through the same paradigm.

Every app will execute through the command-bar. There is no included start-menu or terminal. When using Lateral, it's clear that nothing about it is POSIX-compliant. Each component is built on top of the window manager instead of the terminal, like most operating systems do.

Running Applications

It's important to note that executable files are not located in the same place as non-executable files. Different filetypes are separated into different "partitions" in the filesystem itself.

The command-bar will match any executables in the user's directory. This is where compiled or installed applications are stored, ex: apps: carter/hello-world. You can also explicitly run executables from other users' directories if you have permission, ex: system/help runs help in the system folder (owned by system) inside of the apps section.

Building and running

If you have GNU Make and QEMU installed, you can run make run-release ARCH=x86_64 to build for x86_64 and run in the QEMU emulator.