Built-in Applications

Application Suite

guideXOS includes a variety of built-in applications that showcase the capabilities of the operating system. All applications are GUI-based and run in their own windows.

Built-in Applications

📝 Notepad

A simple text editor for creating and editing text files:

• Features: Open, edit, save text files
• Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+S (save), Ctrl+O (open)
• File formats: .txt, any plain text
• Launch: Click Start → Accessories → Notepad

🎨 Paint

A bitmap graphics editor for creating and editing images:

• Tools: Pencil, brush, eraser, fill bucket, line, rectangle, circle
• Color picker: RGB color selection
• Canvas: 800x600 default size
• File formats: .bmp (bitmap images)
• Launch: Click Start → Graphics → Paint

🧮 Calculator

A functional calculator application:

• Operations: +, -, ×, ÷
• Functions: Square root, percentage, memory
• Input: Click buttons or use keyboard
• Launch: Click Start → Accessories → Calculator

📋 Console

Command-line interface for system control:

• Commands: 30+ system commands
• History: Up/down arrows to recall commands
• Auto-launch: Opens automatically at boot
• Launch: Click Start → System → Console

📁 File Manager

Browse and manage files graphically:

• Features: Navigate directories, view files
• Operations: Copy, move, delete, rename
• Views: List view with file details
• Launch: Click Start → System → File Manager

🌐 Web Browser

Basic web browser with HTTP support:

• Protocol: HTTP (HTTPS not supported)
• Rendering: Basic HTML rendering
• Navigation: URL bar, back/forward buttons
• Launch: Click Start → Internet → Web Browser

💬 IRC Client

Internet Relay Chat client:

• Features: Connect to IRC servers, join channels
• Commands: /join, /part, /msg, /nick
• Protocol: Standard IRC (port 6667)
• Launch: Click Start → Internet → IRC Client

📊 Task Manager

Monitor system resources:

• Process list: View running applications
• Memory usage: See RAM consumption
• Performance: CPU and memory graphs
• Launch: Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc or Start → System → Task Manager

🖼️ Image Viewer

View image files:

• Formats: BMP images
• Features: Zoom, pan, fullscreen
• Navigation: Next/previous images
• Launch: Click Start → Graphics → Image Viewer

⚙️ Settings

System configuration:

• Display: Resolution, refresh rate
• Network: IP configuration
• System: About, version info
• Launch: Click Start → System → Settings

GXM Executable Format

guideXOS uses a custom executable format called .gxm (guideXOS eXecutable Module) that supports both native code execution and declarative GUI scripting.

Two Types of GXM Files

1. GUI Script GXMs

Declarative text-based format for creating simple GUI applications without programming:

GXM Header (20 bytes):
┌──────────────────────┐
│ 'G','X','M',0x00     │  Magic (4 bytes)
│ Version: 0x01000000  │  Version (4 bytes)
│ Entry RVA: 0         │  Entry point (4 bytes, 0 for GUI)
│ File Size            │  Total size (4 bytes)
│ 'G','U','I',0x00     │  GUI marker (4 bytes)
├──────────────────────┤
│ Script Text (UTF-8)  │  WINDOW|Title|W|H
│                      │  LABEL|Text|X|Y
│                      │  BUTTON|ID|Text|X|Y|W|H
│                      │  ONCLICK|ID|ACTION|...
│ 0x00 (null term)     │  End marker
└──────────────────────┘

2. Native Binary GXMs

Compiled NativeAOT applications packaged in GXM format:

GXM Header (20 bytes):
┌──────────────────────┐
│ 'G','X','M',0x00     │  Magic (4 bytes)
│ Version: 0x01000000  │  Version (4 bytes)  
│ Entry RVA            │  Entry point offset (4 bytes)
│ File Size            │  Total size (4 bytes)
│ Reserved: 0          │  (4 bytes)
├──────────────────────┤
│ Native x86-64 Code   │  Compiled NativeAOT binary
│ (PE/COFF sections)   │  Executable machine code
└──────────────────────┘

Creating GUI Script Applications

GUI scripts are the easiest way to create simple applications:

// 1. Create script file (hello.txt)
WINDOW|Hello World|320|200
LABEL|Welcome to guideXOS!|16|16
BUTTON|1|Click Me|16|60|120|28
ONCLICK|1|MSG|Hello from guideXOS!
BUTTON|99|Close|16|140|120|28
ONCLICK|99|CLOSE|

# 2. Package with GXM Packager
GXMPackager.exe hello.txt hello.gxm --gui

# 3. Copy to guideXOS
cp hello.gxm Ramdisk/Programs/

# 4. Rebuild ISO and test
ForceRebuildISO.bat

Available GUI Script Commands

Available Actions

Creating Native Binary Applications

For more complex applications, you can compile C# code to native binaries:

// 1. Write C# application (uses guideXOS namespaces)
using guideXOS.GUI;
using guideXOS.Misc;

public class MyApp
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        var win = new Window(100, 100, 400, 300);
        win.Title = "My Application";
        win.Visible = true;
        WindowManager.MoveToEnd(win);
    }
}

// 2. Compile with NativeAOT
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained

// 3. Package as GXM  
GXMPackager.exe MyApp.exe MyApp.gxm --entry 0x1000

// 4. Deploy to guideXOS
cp MyApp.gxm Ramdisk/Programs/

Built-in Namespaces for Development

When developing native applications, you have access to guideXOS's core namespaces (the OS is compiled as a monolithic NativeAOT binary, not separate DLLs):

• guideXOS.GUI - Window, Button, Label, List, TextBox and other controls
• guideXOS.Graphics - Image, Graphics, PNG, drawing primitives
• guideXOS.FS - File system operations (File, Directory classes)
• guideXOS.Network - TCP, UDP, HTTP, DNS, DHCP networking
• guideXOS.Kernel - Memory management, process control
• guideXOS.Misc - Timer, StringPool, utilities

Launching Applications

Method 1: Start Menu

The easiest way - click the Start button and browse categories:

Click [Start] button
    ↓
Select category (e.g., "Accessories")
    ↓
Click application name (e.g., "Notepad")
    ↓
Application launches in new window

Method 2: Console Command

Use the console to launch apps by name or path:

gx> apps
Installed Applications:
  notepad.gxm
  paint.gxm
  calc.gxm
  browser.gxm

gx> exec notepad
Launching Notepad...

gx> exec /bin/paint.gxm
Launching Paint...

Method 3: Desktop Icons

Double-click icons on the desktop to launch favorite apps.

Method 4: File Manager

Navigate to /bin in File Manager and double-click .gxm files.

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