Unifying EROS and L4

[Jonathan S. Shapiro]

In preparation for the upcoming gathering in Dresden, I want to start
some discussion about opportunities for unifying the L4 and EROS
kernels. We have made some recent decisions in the EROS project that
create a MUCH higher likelihood of success in this discussion.
Similarly, the L4 team has been making progress on things that are
drawing the two systems closer.

Since this is a public mailing list, and since many of the participants
have strong and well-motivated architectural sensibilities, I feel
compelled to say: I am *not* interested in establishing which system is
"better." I think that both systems have some very strong qualities, and
I think that they are closer in spirit than matters at first appear. I
also think that each system has weaknesses, and I am interested to
figure out whether there may exist a hybrid architecture that combines
the advantages of both, and might allow us to bring the two communities
together so that we can make more effective progress.

Let me also say at the start that I have *not* been lurking on the
l4-hackers list, and that some of the issues I raise may already be
"solved", either in the current implementation or in the sense that
there is a commonly understood forthcoming design.

To facilitate properly threaded discussions, I'll be dividing my
comments into different architectural categories and sending them out
under distinct subject lines.

Regards,


shap

-- 
Jonathan S. Shapiro <shap at eros-os.org>