ReactOS
Free incomplete Windows NT-like operating system / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system for amd64/i686 personal computers intended to be binary-compatible with computer programs and device drivers developed for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Microsoft Windows.[5][6] ReactOS has been noted as a potential open-source drop-in replacement for Windows[7][8][9] and for its information on undocumented Windows APIs.[10]
Developer | Community contributors The ReactOS developers |
---|---|
Written in | C, C++[1] |
OS family | Windows NT-like |
Working state | Alpha |
Source model | Open-source[2] |
Initial release | (partial) 1998; 26 years ago (1998) |
Latest preview | 0.4.14[3] / 16 December 2021; 2 years ago (2021-12-16)[3] |
Repository | |
Marketing target | Personal computing |
Update method | CD-ROM ISO image, QEMU image, VirtualBox image, VMware image, or source code[4] |
Platforms | IA-32, x86-64 |
Kernel type | Hybrid (designed to be compatible with Windows NT family) |
Influenced by | Microsoft Windows |
Default user interface | Graphical (ReactOS Explorer) |
License | GPL-2.0-or-later[lower-alpha 1] |
Official website | www |
ReactOS has been in development since 1996. As of April 2024[update], it is still considered feature-incomplete alpha software, and is therefore recommended by the developers only for evaluation and testing purposes.[11][12] However, many Windows applications are working, such as Adobe Reader 9.3, GIMP 2.6, and LibreOffice 5.4.[13][14]
ReactOS is primarily written in C, with some elements, such as ReactOS File Explorer, written in C++. The project partially implements Windows API functionality and has been ported to the AMD64 processor architecture.[15] ReactOS, as part of the FOSS ecosystem, re-uses and collaborates with many other FOSS projects,[16][17] most notably the Wine project, which presents a Windows compatibility layer for Unix-like operating systems.