Operating-system research became passé during the early 1990s, and there is fear it will remain that way.
"Recently, there has been little research of interest in the operating-system area," notes Jim Mitchell, a Sun fellow at SunSoft. "Most projects have focused only on improving Unix performance. No one was taking any real risks and trying something radically different."
There are many reasons for this malaise. One main reason is that funds for research projects are limited. The two main suppliers, ARPA and the National Science Foundation, have seen their budgets cut as elected officials tighten government spending.
The cuts come just when the competition for
R&D dollars has greatly increased. New technologies, GUIs, multimedia applications, networking, and videoconferencing are all vying for limited funding with operating-system projects.
Despite the problem, there is hope. Frans Kaashoek, a professor of computer science at MIT, said researchers focused on filling holes in microkernel technology for several years because the technology was new and limited. A few years ago, researchers realized that they had pushed that technology as far as they could.
Therefore, a handful of projects focusing on new technology have sprouted during the past two years. "Several projects represent the beginning of the next wave of operating-system research," Kaashoek said. "I am confident they will result in design breakthroughs and there will be plenty of areas of interesting research in a couple of years."
Operating-System Research: Dim or Bright Future?
