Release Notes for HelenOS mainline

Note: This document is a draft describing a future HelenOS release and is subject to change. The software described here has not been released yet. To get these latest and greatest features now, check out our Git master. (But you will also get the latest bugs).

HelenOS version (codename) was released on date.

This document contains a summary of changes made to HelenOS since release previous release.

Special Notes for this Release

Features Introduced in This Release

General

• HelenOS build for 486 CPU works correctly again
• HelenOS works correctly in Qemu -M isapc

Kernel

• Fixed ia32 kernel deadlocking during boot if lazy FPU context switching is disabled during build
• Fixed km_unmap_unaligned() trying to unmap the entire kernel ASID - fixes kernel test mapping1 on sparc64

User Interface

• Added the Task Bar (a panel containing a clock and buttons for switching the active window)
• Menu can be navigated more quickly using the keyboard thanks to accelerator keys support
• Added scrollbars
• Resizable windows can now be maximized/unmaximized (e.g. UI Demo)
• File dialogs now actually allow browsing files
• Window captions are abbreviated with … if they are too long

Services and Drivers

• Graphical mode is now used for Qemu/sun4u thanks to improved driver support
• HelenOS in Qemu -M isapc now correctly falls back to EGA text mode
  • Correctly detect that the Qemu SuperVGA adapter does not support linear frame buffer in this case
• Fixed graphical console not displaying correctly in resolutions greater than 1024x768
• Fixed arrow keys not working in VirtualBox
• Fixed Intel HD audio stuttering in VirtualBox
• Fixed audio server (Hound) crashing at the end of playback
• Fixed some platforms shipping all (i.e. even irrelevant) drivers

File Systems

Networking

• Fixed netecho failing to send any messages
• Fixed two issues in DHCP client that prevented it from working properly in VirtualBox

Applications

• Barber now has a proper window caption (which is rendered abbreviated)

Libraries

• User interface library (libui)
  • Fixed two use-after-free bug when closing a window / dialog that could lead to random application crashes
  • Added File List control (used in file dialog)
• Text rendering library (libgfxfont)
  • gfx_puttext() can now abbreviate text that does not fit within the specified width with …

Miscellaneous

Regressions in This Release

• For the list of regressions since the previous release, see this report.
• Notable regressions

Fixed Logged Bugs & Enhancements

• For the list of all logged defects fixed in this release, see this report.
• For the list of all logged enhancements integrated in this release, see this report.

Known Bugs

• For the list of known bugs still not fixed in this release, see this report.
• For the list of all open tickets, see this report.