The release of the webOS Open Source Edition 2.19 has been published, which can be used on various portable devices, boards, and automotive infotainment systems. The Raspberry Pi 4 boards are considered the reference hardware platform. The platform is being developed in a public repository under the Apache 2.0 license, and the development is overseen by the community through a collaborative development model.
The webOS platform was originally developed by Palm in 2008 and was used on the Palm Pre and Pixie smartphones. In 2010, after acquiring Palm, the platform came under Hewlett-Packard's control, which then attempted to use the platform in its printers, tablets, laptops, and PCs. In 2012, HP announced the transition of webOS into an independent open project and began releasing the source code for its components in 2013. In that same year, the platform was acquired from Hewlett-Packard by LG and is now used in over 70 million LG TVs and consumer devices. In 2018, the webOS Open Source Edition project was established, through which LG aimed to return to an open development model, attract other participants, and expand the range of devices supported by webOS.
The webOS system environment is formed using the OpenEmbedded tools and base packages, as well as the build system and metadata set from the Yocto project. Key components of webOS include the System and Application Manager (SAM), which is responsible for running applications and services, and the Luna Surface Manager (LSM), which creates the user interface. The components are written using the Qt framework and the Chromium browser engine.
Rendering is done through a composite manager using the Wayland protocol. For developing user applications, it is recommended to use web technologies (CSS, HTML5, and JavaScript) and the Enact framework based on React, although it is also possible to create programs in C and C++ with a Qt-based interface. The user interface and built-in graphical applications are mainly implemented as native programs written using QML technology. By default, the Home Launcher interface is offered, optimized for touch screen navigation and featuring a concept of interchangeable cards instead of windows.
Data is stored in a structured format using JSON with the DB8 storage system, which uses LevelDB as the backend. Initialization is done through bootd based on systemd. For multimedia content processing, the uMediaServer and Media Display Controller (MDC) subsystems are available, and PulseAudio is used for sound. server For automatic firmware updates, OSTree and atomic partition replacement are used (two system partitions are created, one of which is active while the other is used for updating).
Key changes in the new release:
- The Home App has been improved with a status bar featuring frequently accessed options. Support for freely editing the content of the application panel has been provided. New screen gestures have been added.
- The package includes a Video Call application for making video calls and conducting virtual meetings. Currently, only connections through Cisco Webex and Microsoft Teams are supported.
- A command-line environment has been provided for creating custom applications with blockchain wallets, simplifying operations such as signing transactions and logging those transactions on the blockchain.
- The Enact Browser has added support for a malware detection service and implements a pop-up window requesting user permissions.
- In audio, server support for detecting built-in and external audio devices has been added. The system service (Sys Service) now supports secondary audio devices (subdevices), built-in sound cards, and MIPI cameras. An echo cancellation noise reduction mechanism (ECNR) has been implemented in PulseAudio.
- Components of the platform for creating embedded Linux systems Yocto have been updated to release 4.0.
- The browser engine has been updated to release Chromium 94 (previously, Chromium 91 was used). Gaming controller support has been added to webOS web applications.
- The Noto fonts have been updated (support for Unicode 15.0.0 characters has been added).
- The transition to Qt 6.4 has been made. The Enact web framework has been updated to version 4.5.0.
Source: opennet.ru
