Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 26, 2026

Lites

Lites is a discontinued Unix-like operating system, based on 4.4BSD and the Mach microkernel. Specifically, Lites is a multi-threaded server and emulation library that provided unix functions to a Mach-based system. At the time of its release, Lites provided binary compatibility with 4.4BSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD, 386BSD, UX (4.3BSD), and Linux.

Last revised
Jun 26, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
165 w
Citations
2
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Lites
DeveloperJohannes Helander, Helsinki University of Technology;
Flux Research Group, University of Utah
Written inC, assembly language
OS familyUnix-like (4.4BSD)
Working stateDiscontinued
Source modelOpen-source
Final release1.1.u3 / 30 March 1996 (1996-03-30)
Repositorywww.cs.utah.edu/flux/lites/html/
Marketing targetResearch
Available inEnglish
Update methodCompile from source code
Supported platformsx86, MIPS, Alpha, PA-RISC, PC532
Kernel typeMicrokernel
Default
user interface		Command-line interface
LicenseBSD
Official websitewww.cs.utah.edu/flux/lites/html/lites-info.html

Lites is a discontinued Unix-like operating system, based on 4.4BSD and the Mach microkernel. Specifically, Lites is a multi-threaded server and emulation library that provided unix functions to a Mach-based system. At the time of its release, Lites provided binary compatibility with 4.4BSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD, 386BSD, UX (4.3BSD), and Linux.1

Lites was originally written by Johannes Helander at Helsinki University of Technology, and was further developed by the Flux Research Group at the University of Utah.2

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Helander, Johannes. "Lites 1.0 Announcement". Helsinki University of Technology. Archived from the original on 16 July 1997. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  2. Hibler, Mike; Clawson, Stephen (15 March 1996). "General Lites Information". University of Utah. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
External links