A Cool Thought

[mitsukaki]

I just wanted to bring up something cool I was thinking about today. NodeOS and Android share as many similarities as British vs American English.

Both systems are based off the Linux kernel. Android actually just uses kernel modules for all hardware interaction and uses the JNI to interact. In the same way, NodeOS uses v8's bridge to the native interface to access kernel operations.

There are also deep relationships between the two languages. Aside from the notable similar , code structure, and fact that they're both , both projects were worked on by the same developers. The same developers who created the Java Hotspot VM, worked on V8 too.

I find the similarities quite interesting. We do of course have differences. NodeOS is arguably more portable, capable of supporting more technology with less work (less layers between userspace and kernel modules).

I could keep going but eh, it's all cool!

[piranna]

I think I see your point, in fact I also see NodeOS at the same level as Android (Node.js/Linux instead of Dalvik/Linux or GNU/Linux), but there are some diferences, first of them I see more as a GUI-less ChromeOS or FirefoxOS instead. Regarding support of technology this is argueable, since we only depend on vanilla Linux kernel as a HAL layer while Android systems usually add some privative kernel modules, that we can't do at this moment both due to commercial support and because we are not using kernel modules but instead a monolithical kernel. Do you believe we should start thinking about adding support for kernel modules? How should they managed, only on administrator mode?

[mitsukaki]

As for management, yes administrator mode would make sense seeing that
adding and removing kernel modules would quite literally be de- or
rehabilitating the system.

[mitsukaki]

I actually wasn't aware that we weren't using them. I've been studying the
Linux kernel much as I need to write kernel modules for the phone I'm
developing.

Allowing users to use kernel modules would allow users to easily add
support to new hardware. I could see a module being wrapped in an npm
module, and users could fetch it like so.

I don't see it essential, as servers probably wouldn't need it, but it
would be a cool thing to have.