Genode OS Framework release 17.02

Genode 17.02 brings the following major improvements. First, we largely revised our C runtime environment with respect to compatibility of our component framework to C applications. Therefore, we enhanced the VFS to support asynchronous I/O operations and changed the libc execution model to fit our state-machine-based component approach. Further, the release introduces the Genode application binary interface (ABI), which finally renders most Genode components entirely kernel-agnostic. System scenarios can now be moved from one kernel to another in a few seconds. Also, we packed a brand input-event filter component into this release and updated the init component to suit as a generic subsystem-composition engine that applies configuration updates differentially to its subsystems.

With the current release, we updated our regular Open-Source license and adopted the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (AGPLv3). Possible license-compatibility concerns with other popular open-source software licenses are addressed by the accompanied special exception clause that expresses our consent with linking Genode with open-source software of different licenses.

Please consult the release documentation at https://goo.gl/AEtRvD for details about all improvements of the current release.