Description: Linux Unified Kernel 0.2.3 was released
On February 12, 2009, Linux Unified Kernel project development team officially issued Unified Kernel 0.2.3 . This release, based on version 0.2.2-1, ports the registry management which affects the performance of applications' running a lot in Wine as a whole into kernel.
Linux Unified Kernel (also known as LUK or Longene) is a computer operating system kernel intended to be binary-compatible with application software and device drivers made for Microsoft Windows and Linux.
The LUK project aims to add all Windows kernel mechanisms into the Linux kernel, including Process management, Thread management, Object management, virtual memory management, Synchronization, System calls (Syscall), Windows Registry, WDM (Device driver framework), Windows DPC mechanism, etc., to form a new kernel. Thus, the new kernel allows both Linux and Windows applications and device drivers to work directly without virtualization or emulation.
But LUK is not simply an accumulation of the two kernels. In order to prevent LUK from becoming bloated, if a function has been completed in the ReactOS kernel, and it can also be achieved using the Linux kernel (ReactOS/Wine/NDISwrapper code as a reference if they have implemented the function), then LUK prefers to use the latter.
LUK has two sets of syscalls and their corresponding syscall tables: a Windows syscall set and a Linux syscall set. Windows applications call the syscall table via software interrupt "int 0x2e" to make a system call. Linux applications call syscall table via "int 0x80".
The LUK project does not develop the Windows and the Linux userland libraries. Those libraries are offered by the Wine (or Microsoft Windows/ReactOS) project and the Linux project.
The product of the LUK project is patches for the Linux kernel. The LUK developers expect those patches to eventually merge into the Linux kernel main tree. So that the developers who are accomplisheded in working for Windows platform will develope the applications and device drivers for linux platform or port their products to linux platform with a low cost. They and the linux users will benefit from the LUK project directly.
LUK is primarily written in the C programming language, and is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Although the project is in the alpha development stage as of 2009, many Windows programs already work well.
The version 0.2.3 of LUK source is available from the following locations:
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