AnlinxOS is a custom Linux-based operating system from the ground up for both the mobile (Android-based mobile devices) and desktop environments, taking the idea of LFS (Linux From Scratch) into a fully customized idea. This operating system aims to merge the best parts from other operating systems.
- Windows containing the Compatibility Layer
- Linux on the core itself (forked from torvalds repo)
- Android being virtualized on the Type-1 Layer (see
wineandalde)- Quick explanation,
aldeis similar towinethat translates Android calls to glibc calls. Initially, I archived it because it was no longer in development, thinking that I could reuse this concept in this OS. Maybe I'll unarchive that project, eventually copying the sources from here over to that repository, but only time will tell.
- Quick explanation,
This will break quite many packages that would be ported, since there are ideas on refining
the FHS (File Hierarchy System) (/) itself. The idea behind it is to make the File Structure
more beginner-friendly. Certain directories like /dev, /sys and /proc will stay, but I
will mainly reconstruct the use of /usr, /home and other directories into Android
equivalents. Say, we got the System, I pack the System in a read-only /System partition. For
all the user files and such, we pack that into /Data, where the /home directory gets
replaced with a symlink of /Users that point towards /Data/UserDir (I got /Data/Users
reserved for something else). This itself already looks better. To allow Factory Resets that
Android does, we also implement a /Recovery partition. Oh, and bin, along with lib no
longer exists. Say hello to /System/x64. You can think of it as a System32-alike directory.
Now, I mentioned me having a reserved /Data/Users, and you may wonder, "Chris, what the hell
should that even be?" Don't worry, uncle BC100Dev here will explain. I decided to completely
nuke /etc/passwd, along with its shadow equivalent into its new User Management System,
which will end up being at that particular place. That itself is a directory, in which I will
have login.d (for users that can be logged in) and services.d (service-required users).
Something similar will also be placed under /System/base/users, where that would only contain
services.d and system.d (pun intended 😆)
In other words, you can see that AnlinxOS is not another Linux distro fork (like Ubuntu being linked to Debian), LineageOS being AOSP-equivalent and so on. Nope, AnlinxOS is a self-independent OS.
- Built on CLFS: This OS does not contain a repackaged distribution base, like ZorinOS, taking the distro base of Ubuntu. AnlinxOS is constructed using CLFS (Coding Linux from Scratch) for complete control for each component.
- Android Framework being included: Unlike AOSP-based systems, AnlinxOS does not depend on
the Android Runtime, SystemUI or typical Android HALs. This means that the Android Framework
Support is translated to the glibc Layer (see
aldefor reference). - GSI-like experience: Android in itself gives you the possibility to have a GSI (Generic System Image) on an Android device, meaning one ROM can support several devices. This OS takes that concept in developing a suitable solution, especially for those that are mainly afraid of unlocking the bootloader and possibly bricking the device in the process. Don't worry, you still need to unlock the bootloader 💀
- HAL being customizable: The HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) itself will provide generic modules (think of them as drivers), meaning you can load in custom drivers from the device vendor you own. This means that you can integrate certain device drivers that will make most of the performance onto the operating system.
- Compatibility Layers: The core idea is to get most programs to work with a compatibility layer, similar to how Windows operates, making older shared libraries still being present, even when they are no longer being up to date.
- DE compatible with Mobile and Desktops: A desktop environment, in which we know with GNOME and KDE Plasma, those are integral to a functional system for newbies. This OS will deliver a custom Graphical Environment that is capable for Mobile and Desktop systems, powered with the use of a Safety Protocol we all love, Wayland.
AnlinxOS is currently under heavy development. Most components are in early implementation or experimental testing. Code will remain hosted on GitHub during this stage, until I may have to migrate to a self-hosted Git repository once the codebase grows or outpaces GitHub’s project structure.
As of now, AnlinxOS is currently in the planning stages and in heavy development. Most
components will stay as-is, but certain components such as the libc will be needed to be
rewritten due to the refactor of the FHS (File Hierarchy System). So, for the libc rewrite,
I thought of merging glibc and bionic together, since they are the most used C-libraries
that exists, meaning I would merge the best of these two and perform a reimplementation for
those that need new implementations themselves. Yes, this was an initial idea, but seeing
on where the planning is going, this is ending up to be a necessity to be dealt with. UNLESS,
there are configuration files that I am not aware, but then, again, /usr and /etc won't
exist.
Another thing to mention is keeping the status of this entire thing being open source. Now,
sure, GitHub can help me store the sources for now. However, once I hit the limitations, I would
have to move the source files over to my own server, bypassing the limitations in the process,
so that it may or may not even grow up to 10–50 GB in size. I don't have any specific
expectations as to what storage space it'll finalize at when it comes to the source code, but
I assume that it will end up at somewhere approximately 20 GB. Hopefully, not more. Oh, and
I don't want to rely on the repo tool developed by Google themselves, especially that AOSP
went into private development.
Now, I might have an idea on how I could keep this OS up to date, while also having the mind on keeping the OS secure. Here is the outline:
- Feature Updates: Released every year or two, similar to Windows' major version changes. Focused on introducing new capabilities, graphical updates and/or architectural changes.
- Minor Updates: Rolled out approximately every two months, in which it includes Security Updates, Bug Fixes, Translation and Device Support Improvements.
- No forced monthly releases: AnlinxOS prioritizes stability and long-term maintainability over rapid feature churn.
This way, I make sure that AnlinxOS has the stability in mind, contains the long-term maintainability, and I also make sure that I keep myself sane (because someone eventually also needs a break 💀), so that updates are happening gradually instead of rapidly (looking at Arch Linux over here). Now, I know you guys don't like the 2-to-3 monthly updates, but acknowledging of me being a solo developer, I don't want to stress myself out completely.
Okay, you might ask me, "Chris, why are you already planning ideas for the future?" Let uncle Chris explain it. Basically, if you want to install this OS on an Android device, you need to unlock the bootloader, which is common practice with custom ROMs in general. However, if the OS isn't as bad as the other a THOUSAND unfinished projects of mine, I might consider making devices themselves, partnering with people that are experts in making phones, and maybe even Computers and/or Laptops in general. Again, that is a future idea I might do. However, if you don't like this idea, I can drop it, and there won't be any problems with you guys bricking five more Android devices, just because you tried installing AnlinxOS. Yes, I've been there, bricked around five devices of my own. One of them was "I wanted Android 7" 💀 😆