The Project Sheer is the main project of Firix. It consists on creating a operating system, called Sheer, which is a modern and revolutionary operating system that is going to break all ties with the past. Sheer will be based on graphics mode. It must be fast, eficient and easy to use.

Sheer is going to be a operating system which will work similar to other operating systems. It will work in graphics mode, only some tasks will be done in text mode, like the boot process, for example.

The platforms that will support Sheer are every 80486+ compatible processors. Maybe in the future it will be converted for other platforms.

Anyway, the main objective of Sheer is to help users work with their computers more easy and to obtain good results with it.


You can see the following information about Sheer:

• Features
• The graphical user interface
• Boot code
• The kernel
• The basic kernel
• Software
• Current status
• Team
• Attention

Features

• 32 bit file system (prepared for 64 bits).
• Suport for MMX processors. Sheer will autodetect the processor and use the capabilities of this processor.
• Full suport for Internet (WWW, email, newsgroups, chat, etc).
• 100% configurable.
• Full integration of Internet.
• Power management.
• Suport for DVD, Universal Serial Bus, FireWire, Advanced Graphics Port and IrDA.
• System File Checker - Check if the system files are corrupted.
• Dr. Error - This program will check and correct all possible errors that Sheer can eventually make.
• Detection of hardware in real time.
• Assistants - Complete Help me! system.
• Full multimedia suport (video, cd-rom, pictures, sound).
• Action Manager - This program will check which is the action that takes less time and will do it first.

The graphical user interface

A - Similar to the Recycle Bin of Windows 95. This will save the deleted files compacted using on of our methods and in the end of every session it will ask the user if he want to really delete the files.
B - This is the area where windows and programs will appear.

Boot code

The boot sector is the first sector on the first track on the first head.

When a computer is turned on, the CPU gets reset and the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) gets run. The first thing it does is the POST routine, next it does an INT 18h which looks for the boot sector. If it doesn't find one, it issues and INT 19h, which just prints out the message "Please insert disk...". When it finds the boot sector, it loads the first 512 bytes on the disk into memory at 0:7c00h. The BIOS then gives control to 0:7c00h. We must have 0aa55h at location 510. The BIOS looks for this to see if the code is boot code.

The kernel

The basic kernel

The boot loader is the responsible for Sheer to boot from floppy disks and hard drives without necessity of modifications in Sheer.

The kernel loader loads the kernel putting in memory resources necessary for the kernel to work.

The kernel is the program that gives the GUI kernel the main resources. This kernel is always in memory.

The GUI loader loads the GUI kernel into memory.

Software

- A browser for Internet to work under the graphical interface.
- Four visual compilers to work under the graphical interface.
- A new compiler called SkyPro to work under the graphical interface.
- A scandisk program.
- A defrag program.
- A Quake-style game.

Current status

- Kernel begins to make sense.
- The GUI is making sense.
- The Virtual Memory Manager is implemented in the GUI.

Team

Basic Kernel

GUI Kernel

Programs and Utilities

Testers

ATENTION

This information is always changing, see the new information every day.