the OS should support Android and Linux apps

Google Fuchsia, the next OS from the Mountain View firm, should natively run Android and Linux applications. In any case, this is suggested by several additions to the source code of the operating system, available on a dedicated site.

Here is finally the news concerning Google Fuchsia, the mysterious OS of the firm of Mountain View. As you may know, Google put a line a website from which it is possible to consult the various modifications of the source code of the OS. And as reported by our colleagues from the 9To5Google site, one of the developers of Google Fuchsia has just made an intriguing proposition, according to which the OS will be able to “running unmodified versions of Linux programs ”.

This is a vital issue for Fuchsia: allow users to use both Android and Linux apps. Until now, it was expected that Fuchsia would adopt a method similar to that employed by ChromeOS to run Linux apps. In this case, running an instance of Linux through a virtual machine. However, this approach can have a negative impact on the performance and security of the OS.

Read also: Google Fuchsia – the replacement for Android unveils its interface

Starnix, a solution while waiting for native Fuchsia apps

Here is the proposal of this developer to avoid the use of a virtual machine: Starnix, a system that will make the connection between the instructions of the Linux kernel and those of the Zircon kernel of Google Fuchsia. “Starnix will serve as a compatibility layer, translating requests from Linux client programs to the appropriate Fuchsia subsystem ”, Google specifies on the site dedicated to the development of the OS.

Starnix would therefore be responsible for running the Linux application without slowing down, as it is supposed to run on Linux. In addition, Starnix might have the heavy task of ensuring compatibility between Fuchsia and Android apps. “Android applications contain code modules that have been compiled for Linux. In order to run them on Fuchsia, we must be able to run the code without modifying it ”, Google specifies. Even so, Starnix could only be a temporary solution, until enough native Fuchsia apps are available.

Source: 9To5Google