The Solaris 8 Operating Environment (OE) source code has been opened, allowing developers, enthusiasts and students to study the source. Titled Solaris 8 Source Foundation edition, it contains the kernel, networking source and components from the administration software and everything needed to rebuild the Solaris platform.
"With the introduction of Solaris 8 OE, we noticed an increase of requests to view the source," says Andy Ingram, VP of Solaris Operating Environment at Sun Microsystems. "Allowing access to the source will ensure those interested in the operating environment an easy method to understanding it and thus being able to deliver compatibility."
Sun does not allow modification of the operating system and uses a different licensing model from the typical GNU licence popular in the open source world. Customers must accept the licence terms for the product in writing.
"In SA we have a number of highly skilled, innovative developers," comments Peter Castle, senior systems engineer, Sun SA. "This release of the Solaris source code will allow all these developers to get access to a mission-critical and scalable operating system. This facilitates development on an open platform without the expense of traditional source code costs and a closer coupling/compatibility of home-grown SA-specific applications."
The IT solutions vendor has also developed a portal (www.sun.com/solaris/source) that enables developers to exchange information about the internals of Solaris OE, including how it affects applications and users. Sun hopes to use this information to enhance and improve the Solaris OE.
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