Why Google’s new Linux-less Fuchsia operating system is a huge deal | CIO

Google is working on a new operating system named Fuchsia: ‘Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System).’

At LinuxCon last year, Linus Torvalds said that the Linux kernel has grown so big that if someone wants a really tiny kernel they would have to look elsewhere. Maybe for this reason Google is developing new Fuchsia operating system using its own kernel, dubbed LittleKernel (LK), that’s optimized for embedded devices. Fuchsia OS is powered by the Magenta platform, which comprises a “microkernel as well as a small set of userspace services, drivers, and libraries necessary for the system to boot, talk to hardware, load userspace processes and run them, etc. Fuchsia builds a much larger OS on top of this foundation.” Dart is the main programming language and  Escher is the rendering engine.

It can run on 32-bit/64-bit ARM CPUs, as well as on 64-bit PC processors.
Google says it would be a good alternative to commercial offerings like FreeRTOS or ThreadX.

Why Google’s new Linux-less Fuchsia operating system is a huge deal

http://www.cio.com/article/3107020/operating-systems/why-googles-new-linux-less-fuchsia-operating-system-is-a-huge-deal.html

16 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google’s New OS Will Run on Your Raspberry Pi
    http://hackaday.com/2016/08/17/googles-new-os-will-run-on-your-raspberry-pi/

    According to reports from Android Police and ZDNet, you may soon have a new operating system from Google to run on your Raspberry Pi. Details are still extremely sparse, the only description on the GitHub page is “Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System)”. But, here’s what we do know:

    https://github.com/fuchsia-mirror

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google waves goodbye to Linux for new IoT OS Fuchsia – coming soon to Raspberry Pi
    http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-waves-goodbye-to-linux-for-new-iot-os-fuchsia-coming-soon-to-raspberry-pi/

    Google is building a new operating system and kernel to run low-power and fully-featured devices for the internet.

    Google has started building a new open-source operating system that doesn’t rely on the Linux kernel.

    While Android and Chrome OS have Linux at their heart, Google’s new OS, dubbed Fuchsia, opts for a different kernel to create a lightweight but capable OS, suitable for running all Internet of Things devices, from embedded systems to higher-powered phones and PCs.

    Instead of the Linux kernel, Google’s new OS uses Magenta, which itself is based on LittleKernel, a rival to commercial OSes for embedded systems such as FreeRTOS and ThreadX.

    According to Android Police, Magenta can target smartphones and PCs thanks to user-mode support and a capability-based security model not unlike Android 6.0′s permissions framework.

    Google is also using its own Dart as the main programming language, Flutter for the user interface, and Escher for rendering

    Google is developing an OS called “Fuchsia,” runs on All the Things
    http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/08/12/google-developing-new-fuchsia-os-also-likes-making-new-words/

    Every single operating system developed by Google to date has one thing in common: they’re based on the Linux kernel. Chrome OS, Android, Chromecasts, you name it. Linux has powered Google hardware for years.

    However, the Linux kernel is not ideal for every situation. Especially in the case of embedded devices like car dashboards or GPS units, full-blown desktop kernels like Linux impact performance and cause other issues. There’s a massive ecosystem of operating systems designed for embedded hardware, and Google may be working on their own.

    Enter “Fuchsia.” Google’s own description for it on the project’s GitHub page is simply, “Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System)”. Not very revealing, is it? When you begin to dig deeper into Fuchsia’s documentation, everything starts to make a little more sense.

    First, there’s the Magenta kernel based on the ‘LittleKernel’ project. Just like with Linux and Android, the Magenta kernel powers the larger Fuchsia operating system.

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google Is Working On Fuchsia OS Support For Apple’s Swift Programming Language
    https://tech.slashdot.org/story/17/11/20/2110216/google-is-working-on-fuchsia-os-support-for-apples-swift-programming-language?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29

    Google’s in-development operating system, named “Fuchsia,” first appeared over a year ago. It’s quite different from Android and Chrome OS, as it runs on top of the real-time “Magenta” kernel instead of Linux. According to recent code commits, Google is working on Fuchsia OS support for the Swift programming language.

    Google is working on Fuchsia OS support for Apple’s Swift programming language
    http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/11/20/google-working-fuchsia-os-support-apples-swift-programming-language/

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Back to the Fuchsia: The next 10 years of Android
    Beyond world domination
    https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/21/android_the_next_10_years/

    Part Two In Part One we described how, after 10 years, Android was uncannily similar to Windows after 20 years.

    But similar is not the same.

    Android is like Windows in as much as it’s dominant – and also anarchic, fragmented, insecure, with a user base that lags far behind the latest code. The platform owner is accused of all kinds of competition issues around bundling: Microsoft then, Google now.

    But in many important ways, Android now is also not like Windows then, at all.

    Android at 10: How Google won the smartphone wars
    It’s like Windows at 20. But slurpier
    https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/10/android_at_10_part_one/

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Paul Miller / The Verge:
    Google starts contributing to Apple’s Swift programming language, submits pull request for adding Fuchsia OS support

    Swift code will run on Google’s Fuchsia OS
    Still doesn’t help explain why Fuchsia exists
    https://www.theverge.com/google/2017/11/20/16681556/apple-swift-language-google-fuchsia-os-open-source

    A few days ago, there was a flash-in-the-pan controversy over Google “forking” Apple’s open-source programming language Swift. After a few minutes of speculation over whether Google was going to make its own special flavor of the language for its own purposes, Swift’s creator Chris Lattner (who now works at Google) helpfully clarified the situation:

    Swift at Google has enough folks working on it that we need a staging ground/integration point, and we decided it should be public

    Google just wanted its own working copy of the code so it could make changes and then contribute them “upstream” to the official Swift repository. No funny business

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google’s Fuchsia OS On the Pixelbook
    https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/01/18/229254/googles-fuchsia-os-on-the-pixelbook?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29

    Our early look at Fuchsia OS last May provided a glimpse into a number of new interface paradigms. Several months later, we now have an updated hands-on with Google’s future operating system that can span various form factors. This look at the in-development OS eight months later comes courtesy of Ars Technica who managed to get Fuchsia installed on the Pixelbook.

    Google’s Fuchsia OS on the Pixelbook: It works! It actually works!
    We take a look at what Google’s experimental, secret OS is up to in early 2018.
    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/01/googles-fuchsia-os-on-the-pixelbook-it-works-it-actually-works/

    Google currently has two OSes on the market: Android and Chrome OS. The company is never one to leave a successful product alone in the marketplace, though, so it’s also developing a third operating system called “Fuchsia.” When we last checked in on the experimental OS in May 2017, calling it an “OS” was a bit of a stretch. We only got the system UI up and running on top of Android, where it then functioned like an app. The UI offered a neat multi-window system, but mostly it was just a bunch of placeholder graphics. Nothing worked.

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    How Google’s Fuchsia OS has progressed: Pixelbook support, working browser, new UI elements
    https://9to5google.com/2018/01/18/google0fuchsia-os-progress-pixelbook-browser/

    Our early look at Fuchsia OS last May provided a glimpse into a number of new interface paradigms. Several months later, we now have an updated hands-on with Google’s future operating system that can span various form factors.

    This look at the in-development OS eight months later comes courtesy of Ars Technica who managed to get Fuchsia installed on the Pixelbook. The Made by Google Chromebook is only the third officially supported “target device” for Fuchsia development.

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/googlen-uudesta-kayttojarjestelmasta-paljastui-kateva-android-yhteys-6754250

    9to5Googlen mukaan Androidin avoimeen pohjaversioon Android Open Source Projectiin on lisätty äskettäin uutta koodia, jonka tarkoituksena on tuoda Androidin java-virtuaalikone ART myös Fuchsialle. Käytännössä se tarkoittaa sitä, että nykyiset Android-sovellukset toimisivat myös tulevassa järjestelmässä.

    https://9to5google.com/2019/01/02/android-runtime-app-support-fuchsia/?xyz

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google’s Fuchsia OS confirmed to have Android app support via Android Runtime
    https://9to5google.com/2019/01/02/android-runtime-app-support-fuchsia/?xyz

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Kyle Bradshaw / 9to5Google:
    Google launches Fuchsia OS developer website with official documentation about developing for its open source operating system

    Google launches Fuchsia.dev to teach developers about Fuchsia OS [Gallery]
    https://9to5google.com/2019/06/28/google-launches-fuchsia-dev/

    As was repeatedly made plain to see during this year’s Google I/O, developers are eager to learn more about Google’s Fuchsia OS. Today, those appetites are beginning to be satisfied thanks to the quiet launch of the official Fuchsia OS developer website, Fuchsia.dev.

    https://fuchsia.dev/fuchsia-src

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Fuchsia OS: Everything About Google’s New Operating System
    https://www.mobileappdaily.com/google-fuchsia

    Google Fuchsia OS is packed with the Ledger system, that store everything in the cloud storage

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Playing Around With the Fuchsia OS
    https://tech.slashdot.org/story/20/06/10/008245/playing-around-with-the-fuchsia-os?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29

    Security and software development company Quarkslab played around with Google’s new Fuchsia operating system, which could one day replace Android on smartphones and Chrome OS on laptops. The researchers “decided to give a quick look at Fuchsia, learn about its inner design, security properties, strengths and weaknesses, and find ways to attack it.”

    Fuchsia’s micro kernel is called Zircon. It is written in C++. [...] Contrary to every other major OS, it appears rather difficult to target the Zircon kernel directly. A successful RCE (Remote Code Execution) on the world-facing parts of the system (USB, Bluetooth, network stack, etc) will only give you control over the targeted components, but they run in independent userland processes, not in the kernel. From a component, you then need to escalate privileges to the kernel using the limited number of syscalls you can access with the handles you have. Overall, it seems easier to target other components rather than the kernel, and to focus on components that you can talk to via IPC and that you know have interesting handles.

    Playing Around With The Fuchsia Operating System
    https://blog.quarkslab.com/playing-around-with-the-fuchsia-operating-system.html

    Fuchsia is a new operating system developed by Google, targeting the AArch64 and x86_64 architectures. While little is known about the purpose of this OS and where it will be used, it seems plausible that it aims at replacing Android on smartphones and Chrome OS on laptops.

    In the interest of acquiring knowledge on an OS that could possibly run on millions of devices in the future, we decided to give a quick look at Fuchsia, learn about its inner design, security properties, strengths and weaknesses, and find ways to attack it.

    Reply
  13. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Security Researchers Attacked Google’s Mysterious Fuchsia OS: Here’s What They Found
    https://www.cbronline.com/news/fuchsia-os-attacked

    We are able to gain kernel code execution from a regular userland process.

    Google’s Fuchsia OS — an emerging operating system that the company has quietly been developing — may not be running on any production systems yet and still remain something of a strategic mystery. (What will it be used on? When will it be rolled out, if at all?)

    That hasn’t stopped security researchers from Quarks Lab — a French security R&D and software development company — from attacking it. (The OS code base is open source). After all, as they note, it could end up on hundreds of millions of Android and Chrome devices.

    Fuschsia OS is based on a tiny custom kernel from Google called Zircon which has some elements written in C++, some in Rust. Device drivers run in what’s called “user mode” or “user land”, meaning they’re not given fully elevated privileges. This means they can be isolated better.

    Reply
  14. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google’s long-in-development, from-scratch operating system, Fuchsia, is now running on real Made by Google devices, namely, the first-generation Nest Hub….

    https://9to5google.com/2021/05/25/google-releases-fuchsia-os-nest-hub/

    Reply
  15. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google’s Fuchsia OS is taking over smart displays, now on its second device
    The quiet rollout of Google’s secretive OS continues, but don’t expect any changes.
    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/googles-fuchsia-os-lands-on-its-second-device-the-nest-hub-max/

    Reply

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