MenuetOS is an

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...

with a monolithic preemptive,

real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learn ...

written in

FASM FASM (''flat assembler'') is an assembler for x86 processors. It supports Intel-style assembly language on the IA-32 and x86-64 computer architectures. It claims high speed, size optimizations, operating system (OS) portability, and macro ab ...

assembly language. The system also includes video drivers. It runs on

64-bit In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit CPUs and ALUs are those that are based on processor registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. A compu ...

and 32-bit

x86 architecture x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was int ...

computers. Its author is Ville M. Turjanmaa. It has a graphical desktop, games, and networking abilities (

TCP/IP stack The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suit ...

). One distinctive feature is that it fits on one floppy disk. On an Intel Pentium MMX one person reported a boot time of "probably ."

History

32 bit

MenuetOS was originally written for 32-bit

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was intr ...

architectures and released under the GPL-2.0-only license, thus many of its applications are distributed under the GPL.MenuetOS: In Assembler geschriebenes Betriebssystem
golem.de, 2009-08-10

64 bit

The 64-bit MenuetOS often referred to as Menuet 64, remains a platform for learning 64-bit assembly language programming. The 64-bit Menuet is distributed without charge for personal and educational use only, bu
without the source code
and the license includes a clause that prohibits disassembly. Multi-core support was added on 24 Feb 2010.

Features

MenuetOS development has focused on fast, simple, efficient

implementation Implementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy. Industry-specific definitions Computer science In computer science, an implementation is a real ...

. MenuetOS has networking abilities, and a working

. Most of the networking code is written by Mike Hibbett. The main focus of Menuet has been on making an environment for easy assembly programming, but it is still possible to run software written in

high-level programming language In computer science, a high-level programming language is a programming language with strong abstraction from the details of the computer. In contrast to low-level programming languages, it may use natural language ''elements'', be easier to us ...

s on the assembler core. The biggest single effort towards high-level language support is Jarek Pelczar's work in porting C libraries to Menuet. The GUI at version 0.99 supports

display resolution The display resolution or display modes of a digital television, computer monitor or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution ...

s up to (16 million colours) with window transparency. The OS has support for several classes of

USB 2.0 Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

peripherals. MenuetOS ships with the shareware versions of '' Quake'' and ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

''. For disk access, MenuetOS supports the

FAT32 File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers. Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks, it was adapted for use on hard disks and other devices. It is often supported for compatibility reasons by ...

file system. Write support is only possible to USB connected devices.

Distributions

32-bit

Menuet32
* GridWorks "EZ" distribution (comprehensive 32-bit archive packages) (CD/HD Boots)

64-bit

The 64-bit main distribution is now proprietary. Several distributions of the 32-bit GPL MenuetOS still exist, including translations in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, and Serbian.
Menuet64

References

* David Chisnall (Jun 22, 2007)
A Roundup of Free Operating Systems. MenuetOS
',

informIT Pearson Education is a British-owned education publishing and assessment service to schools and corporations, as well for students directly. Pearson owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege, ...

*
MenuetOS - 32bit-Betriebssystem auf einer Floppy
',

Der Standard ''Der Standard'' is an Austrian daily newspaper published in Vienna. History and profile ''Der Standard'' was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and published its first edition on 19 October 1988. German media company Axel Sprin ...

, 12 May 2003 * Eugenia Loli-Queru (5 Sep 2001)
Interview With Ville Turjanmaa, the Creator of MenuetOS
',

OSNews OSNews is a computing online newspaper. It originally focused on operating systems and their related technologies that launched in 1997, but is now aggregating consumer electronics news. The content is managed by a group of editors and the owner ...

* Ville M. Turjanmaa (December 1, 2001)
The Menuet Operating System. Packing a lot of punch into a small package
',

Dr. Dobb's ''Dr. Dobb's Journal'' (''DDJ'') was a monthly magazine published in the United States by UBM Technology Group, part of UBM. It covered topics aimed at computer programmers. When launched in 1976, DDJ was the first regular periodical focused on m ...

External links

MenuetOS homepage
(Menuet64 oriented)
MenuetOS C LibraryMenuetOS compared
to AtheOS and

SkyOS SkyOS (''Sky Operating System'') is a discontinued prototype commercial, proprietary, graphical desktop operating system written for the x86 computer architecture. As of January 30, 2009 development was halted with no plans to resume its develop ...

(2002)
an interview with Ville Turjanmaa and Madis Kalme, two of the MenuetOS developers
(2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Menuetos Floppy disk-based operating systems X86-64 operating systems X86 operating systems Assembly language software Proprietary operating systems Hobbyist operating systems