Sailfish is a Linux-based mobile operating system developed by the Jolla Mobile upon cooperation with the Mer project (and also supported in frames of Sailfish Alliance, an open alliance gathering companies interested in), for use in upcoming smartphones by Jolla and other companies upon Jolla's licences. It is intended for more than mobile devices. It is based on MeeGo and Mer. It can be assumed in future as MeeGo 2.0.
Licensing
Jolla said that mobile phone manufacturers (e.g. Nokia, Samsung etc.) will be able to license and use Sailfish with their mobile phones and other mobile devices, as they can with Android. The details of licensing have not been presented yet, but it was mentioned that the whole of Sailfish OS is to be licensed as open source.[1]
Design
The Sailfish OS and the Sailfish SDK are based on the core and the tools of the Mer core,[2] which is a revival of the core of the MeeGo operating system project[3] of Nokia, Intel, and Linux Foundation among others. Sailfish includes a multi-tasking user interface that Jolla intends to use to differentiate its smartphones from others and as a competitive advantage against devices that run Google's Android or Apple's iOS.[4]
The Mer project provides a functional core Linux stack but without any UI and without any hardware adaptation: Mer does not provide a system kernel and hence can't be booted itself as it is. Otherwise: the Mer-based Linux distribution Nemo provides a functional UI framework and it has its own UI and kernel and application set that is compatible with Sailfish. However, Nemo applications are not at the moment included in Sailfish OS and the UI is radically different.
Compatibility
Jolla has reported that Ubuntu, Sailfish and Plasma Active cooperation for sharing common APIs is in progress and - upon success - will make the platforms compatible on the API level.
Jolla reported that Sailfish will be compatible with Android apps thanks to built in Alien Dalvik layer from Myriad Group, known for running Android apps with the Nokia N9. Many Android applications will run on Jolla devices unchanged. To take advantage of all UI and other features of Sailfish OS and make applications fast they may need porting to native Qt/QML, there are extensive guides available on porting to Qt/QML. The same refers to using MeeGo, including MeeGo Harmattan, applications on Jolla devices.
Although Sailfish has been presented first for mobile use with upcoming smartphones by Jolla, as a continuation of MeeGo and using Mer core and the open source philosophy behind them both, it is also an OS for general purposes including devices such as smart televisions, computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets, navigations, cameras, household devices of many kinds, for automotive in cars and IVI, for sailing purposes in yachts and boats, and others. The Sailfish Linux OS in the same way as the MeeGo and the Mer projects it is not limited to use in mobiles only, but can be used with other forms of consumer electronics.[5][6]
Jolla's Sailfish OS works on a tablet too.[7] Jolla managers said in November 2012 that there could be a Sailfish tablet, but Jolla itself will, in this first wave, concentrate on a smartphone.[8]
Architecture
Sailfish OS architecture is divided on layers and oriented for business purposes.
Components
Jolla has revealed its plans to use the following technologies in Sailfish OS: the Mer operating system core[9][10] (a meritocracy-governed and managed fork of MeeGo, but without its own Graphical User Interface), an in-house user interface, HTML5, QML and Qt. Jolla continues building the MeeGo ecosystem.
Mer's primary customers are not end users, but vendors including device vendors, hardware adopters and community distributions. Mer provides a mobile device oriented architecture, structure, processes and tools to make life easy for these vendors. The core is based upon the work from the MeeGo project.[11] The current Mer (from "MeeGo Reconstructed", although at first it was based on Maemo) was created after the discussion about new directions for the MeeGo project, approaching it from the angle of reconstructing the project from bottom up in order to reignite the project and fix problems with project management, governance, lack of transparency, direction and flexibility[12] by the community as a fork of the MeeGo project. The Mer project includes only the core OS, but no user interface. The Mer does not include any system kernel hence can't be used as such in role of working operating system, it is unbootable set of libraries complying MeeGo API specifications, to build a bootable Linux distribution like eg. Sailfish OS. This also mean that Sailfish OS can be launch on any hardware platform, which have this hardware compatible kernel on which the Mer core can be settled. Considering that Sailfish OS and Mer are open sources anyone one can use Sailfish on any hardware platform, even adopted by himself for this purposes or for experimental works.
Application programming interfaces
Qt APIs (QtQuick, QtMobility, QtWebkit and more) should be used by typical Sailfish OS applications. Also standard Linux APIs within reason for mobile usage will be available.[13] Asked about "support of the same QML components, paths, folders etc. that Nokia did for the N9, so developers can repackage apps with ease", Jolla answered that "use of QML including Harmattan components is encouraged", but "the details of the SDK will be shown later".[14] See also Ubuntu, Sailfish and Plasma Active cooperation for sharing common APIs .
Software availability
Because of possibility of using software
- Sailfish (native software, including ported)
- MeeGo
- Android
- Unix and Linux
a number of software possible to use can be estimated.
Hardware
Because of:
- open source licence, and
- nature of Linux itself as such, and
- the Mer project advantages included, and
- Sailfish OS SDK characteristics
the Sailfish OS in general can be used on any hardware with the OS kernel ready for working with the Mer core distribution, in this number one of those on which it was presented so far.
Due to Sailfish OS SDK virtual box and OS emulation in it there is no need to appoint any reference development device, the development reference is the last Sailfish OS SDK or the one appropriate for the particular hardware for a reason.
Development status
Sailfish OS is promoted and supported in many ways with the open Sailfish Alliance established in 2011, a movement established to unite OEM and ODM manufacturers, chipset providers, operators, application developers and retailers.[15]
On 16 August 2012, the user interface was reported as ready to go. Jolla's CEO Jussi Hurmola stated in a ZDNet interview: "(…) Our UI is ready now, we haven't released it yet, we will save it for the product launch and the platform is getting up now so the project looks pretty nice. (…)"[16]
The next day, Jolla's CEO Marc Dillon tweeted that they had reached the first development target.[17]
The Sailfish was presented for the first time by the Jolla team, including a worldwide internet stream,[18] as a demo of the OS, as well as the UI and SDK during the Slush event in Helsinki, Finland, on 21,22 November 2012.
The Sailfish OS SDK in the alpha stage has been published at the end of February 2013 and available for free download from the Wiki of Sailfish OS.
References
External links
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