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TempleOS

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TempleOS
TempleOS 5.03
DeveloperTerry A. Davis
Written inHolyC and x86 Assembly
Working stateFinished
Source modelOpen source
Initial release2005; 19 years ago (2005) (as J Operating System)
2013; 11 years ago (2013) (as TempleOS)
Latest release5.03 / November 20, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-11-20)
Platformsx64
Kernel typeMonolithic
Default
user interface
640x480 16 Color Graphics, specifically created for TempleOS
LicensePublic domain
Official websitetempleos.org

TempleOS is a biblical operating system (OS). It was designed to be the Third Temple prophesied in the Bible. It was created by American programmer Terry A. Davis. TempleOS was written during Terry Davis's manic episodes. He described his inspiration as a revelation from God. The features of TempleOS include a 640x480 resolution, 16-color display, and single-voice audio. Terry Davis said that these features were designed according to instructions from God.[1] It uses a programming language called HolyC. It includes a flight simulator, compiler, and kernel.

TempleOS was released for the first time in 2005. It was last updated in 2018.

Background

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Terry A. Davis

Terry A. Davis (1969–2018) was schizophrenic.[1] He suffered from delusions. These caused him to be hospitalized for a short period of time.[1][2] He said that he was communicating with God.[1]

Davis began developing TempleOS in 2003.[1][3] Originally, it had no internet support.[4][5] Davis died after being hit by a train on August 11, 2018.[6]

System overview

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TempleOS is 64-bit.[7] It is in the public domain and is open source, which means anyone can use and modify the code. It gives users direct access to the lower-levels of the operating system, which means that users can easily change core components of the computer.[8] TempleOS has a graphics library with 16 colors.[5] It can be used with a keyboard and mouse. It has its own system for files.[9] Terry Davis said the limited resolution was to make it easier for children to draw illustrations for God.[1]

After Terry Davis died, Thom Holwerda wrote: "Davis was clearly a gifted programmer – writing an entire operating system is no small feat – and it was sad to see him affected by his mental illness".[10] One fan described Davis as a "programming legend", while another, a computer engineer, compared the development of TempleOS to a one-man-built skyscraper.[6] He added that it "actually boggles my mind that one man wrote all that" and that it was "hard for a layperson to understand what a phenomenal achievement" it is to write an entire operating system alone.[6]

TempleOS is in the public domain. Davis's family has wished for fans to donate to the National Alliance for Mental Illness and other organizations "working to ease the pain and suffering caused by mental illness".[11]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Hicks, Jesse (November 25, 2014). "God's Lonely Programmer". VICE Motherboard. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  2. Bruet-Ferréol, Quentin (May 13, 2014). "Temple OS, un système d'exploitation pour parler à Dieu codé par un fou génial". Slate.fr (in French). Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  3. Cassel, David (September 23, 2018). "The Troubled Legacy of Terry Davis, 'God's Lonely Programmer'". The New Stack. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  4. Davis, Terry A. (2008). "The LoseThos IBM PC Operating System". LoseThos. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Sanders, James (January 21, 2014). "TempleOS: an educational tool for programming experiments". TechRepublic. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cecil, Neita (September 7, 2018). "Man killed by train had tech following". The Dalles Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020. (subscription required)
  7. Davis, Terry A. (n.d.). "Scheduler". The TempleOS Source Code. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  8. Mathieu, Bruno (November 28, 2014). "TempleOS : le système d'exploitation qui parle à Dieu" [TempleOs: The operating system that talks to God]. Tom's Guide (in French). Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  9. Davis, Terry A. (n.d.). "The Temple Operating System". www.templeos.org. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  10. Holwerda, Thom (September 8, 2018). "Creator of TempleOS, Terry Davis, has passed away". OSNews. Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  11. Davis, Terry A. (2013). "The Temple Operating System". TempleOS. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2015.

Other websites

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