Unix in your browser tab: Browsix #Unix #OpenSource
Browsix brings Unix to the browser. Run C, C++, Go and Node.js programs as processes in browsers, including LaTeX, GNU Make, Go HTTP servers, and POSIX shell scripts.
While standard operating systems like Unix make it relatively simple to build complex applications, web browsers lack the features that make this possible. This project is Browsix, a JavaScript-only framework that brings the essence of Unix to the browser. Browsix makes core Unix features available to web applications (including pipes, processes, signals, sockets, and a shared file system) and extends JavaScript runtimes for C, C++, Go, and Node.js programs so they can run in a Unix-like environment within the browser. Browsix also provides a POSIX-like shell that makes it easy to compose applications together for parallel data processing via pipes.
Another way to think about this is that modern web applications are multi-process by nature – the client and some of the application logic lives in the browser, and some of it lives in the cloud, often implemented as microservices.
Browsix lets you rethink the boundary between code executing in the browser vs. server-side, while taking advantage of the multi-core nature of modern computing devices.
As a proof of concept, they’ve implemented a POSIX-like shell on top of Browsix, along with an implementation of a number of standard Unix utilities (cat, tee, echo, sha1sum, and friends). The utilities are all standard node programs that will run directly under node, or in the browser under Browsix. Individual commands are executed in their own workers, and piping works as expected (see above).
This project is licensed under the MIT license, but also incorporates code from other sources.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.