ReactOS
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. ReactOS has been noted as a potential open-source drop-in replacement for Windows and for its information on undocumented Windows APIs.
ReactOS 0.4.14 desktop | |
| Developer | Community contributors The ReactOS developers |
|---|---|
| Written in | C, C++ |
| OS family | Windows NT-like |
| Working state | Alpha |
| Source model | Open-source |
| Initial release | (partial) 1998 |
| Latest preview | 0.4.14 / December 16, 2021 |
| Repository | |
| Marketing target | Personal computing |
| Update method | CD-ROM ISO image, QEMU image, VirtualBox image, VMware image, or source code |
| 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 |
| Official website | www |
ReactOS has been in development since 1996. As of February 2022, it is still considered feature-incomplete alpha software, and is therefore recommended by the developers only for evaluation and testing purposes. However, many Windows applications are working, such as Adobe Reader 9.3, GIMP 2.6, and LibreOffice 5.4.
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. ReactOS, as part of the FOSS ecosystem, re-uses and collaborates with many other FOSS projects, most notably the Wine project, which presents a Windows compatibility layer for Unix-like operating systems.