Haiku Operating System

Haiku is a free and open-source operating system that aims to be binary-compatible with BeOS, the pioneering media-oriented operating system created by Be Inc. (founded by Jean-Louis Gassee in 1990, acquired by Palm Inc. in 2001 for 11 million USD). Haiku development began in 2001 under the name OpenBeOS, was renamed to Haiku in 2004, and released its first beta (R1/Beta1) in September 2018, with R1/Beta5 in 2024. Key features: BeOS compatibility: Haiku maintains binary compatibility with BeOS R5 applications, allowing unmodified BeOS binaries to run. This enables the large catalog of BeOS software to continue running. Modular architecture: the system is organized around a microkernel-inspired modular design with servers (app_server, registrar, input_server, net_server) communicating via a high-performance messaging system (BMessage). Kits: the Haiku API is organized into modular kits: Application Kit (app lifecycle, messages), Interface Kit (windows, views, controls, menus), Storage Kit (files, directories, queries), Network Kit (TCP/UDP, HTTP), Translation Kit (file format conversion), Media Kit (audio/video), OpenGL Kit, and Mail Kit. BFS-inspired file system: the OpenBFS file system supports 64-bit file offsets, journaling, extended attributes, and live queries (notifications when files matching a query change). Lightweight and fast: designed for responsiveness with fast boot times (under 10 seconds), low memory requirements (512 MB minimum), and efficient resource management. Package management: packages are mounted as read-only filesystem layers, eliminating installation steps and enabling instant application availability. C++ codebase. MIT/GPLv2 (components).