Since I want to move a little step closer to that dream I started a blog to share some ideas about it. And my first steps was trying to document at a high level the OS/2 architecture and try to find some points of where should we start. http://openwarp.blogspot.com/
I proposed that it will be interesting to start an OS/2 clone from "Top to down" which means cloning WPS, SOM and PM. And after analyzing this three components I also proposed that will be interesting to start cloning WPS classes on top of IBM's SOM and IBM's PM. why?
- WPS classes can be called as the core of WPS
- WPS classes are an important way on how we interact with OS/2-eCS
- eComStation can benefit from this project and improve it functionality, while also contributing to the open source project
- Cloning WPS will be a strong political statement outside the OS/2 community that we are moving forward on an OS/2 open source clone.
- We will move one step forward on having a long term strategy for the Operating System.
I also wrote some pitfalls on the blog about starting with a WPS Clone:
- Developers... I don't have (yet) no one interested on the project. It is also hard to find developers with WPS and SOM skills.
- Money. It will be very hard to find someone for free.
- Any strange behavior (quirks) on IBM SOM will need to be supported until IBM's SOM can be cloned.
- After a working clone of WorkplaceShell is created, it will require future re-works/tweaking when the SOM and PM clones gets created.
I want to see the possibility start a project to create an open source WPS classes full clone. I don't have development skills, I can't do it alone and I need developers, suggestions, funding and moral support
But I think that first I need to contact some developers with WPS/SOM skills to try to define a plan, costs, time frames and also evaluate the open source software that we currently have that can be re-used.
I'm open for suggestions.
