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                                Zero ZQ

•Zero ZQ is a 32-bit operating system, designed to be portable across various
architectures and platforms. In Zero, the portability is implemented using 
abstraction layers. Below, you can see their brief definition and 
responsibilities:

- AAL (Architecture Abstraction Layer): Hides the architecture-dependent
implementation details, including interrupt handling, virtual memory
management etc. Not used directly by the generic kernel code.

- PAL (Platform Abstraction Layer): The last startup point of Zero ZQ. Manages
the platform-dependent code, such as working with timer interrupts, disk,
mapping virtual memory and talking to AAL. Unlike AAL, PAL is used by the
generic kernel code frequently.

- BAL (Boot Abstraction Layer): The first startup point of Zero ZQ. Its
responsibility is to collect boot information (a memory map, 
video information, time etc.) and provide it to PAL.

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                                Status

Below, you can see a current status of project, and what's planned (may change
in future):

Current status: Writing documentation, architecture and design of 
the operating system

- Development tools:
        ZeroBuild - Building system                             [ ]
        ZeroDoc - Documentation packing and management          [ ]
        Integrating KConfig into build system                   [ ]

- Operating system:
        "zqbal" (BAL's implementation, i386)                    [ ]
        "zqaal" (AAL's implementation, i386)                    [ ]
        "zqpal" (PAL's implementation, i386)                    [ ]
        "zqke" (an operating system kernel)                     [ ]

Notes:
- The "zqpal" and "zqke" parts are going to be developed at the same time.
- New development tools and planned things list will expand as soon 
as I bring notes from my notebook into README file.

Planned CPU architectures to support:
        i386
        
Planned platforms to support:
        IBM-compatible PCs