Microsoft · Low-level graphics and GPU software architecture

Midori

Graphics for an operating system that did not yet exist

Worked on low-level graphics systems and GPU software architecture for Midori, an experimental operating-system project at Microsoft. The work included graphics and GPU drivers, high-performance graphics APIs, and validation and diagnostics tooling. I developed a functional graphics driver from hardware specifications using Midori's experimental language and runtime.

Operating systemsGraphicsGPU driversR&D

Context

Midori was the codename for an experimental operating-system project at Microsoft that reimagined the OS with a different set of hardware, safety and concurrency assumptions. Its graphics stack had to exist before the operating system around it did.

Approach

The work covered graphics and GPU drivers, high-performance graphics APIs, and validation and diagnostics tooling. I wrote a functional graphics driver directly from hardware specifications in Midori's experimental language and runtime so the rest of the system could be exercised against real silicon.

Outcome

The lesson generalized past the project: R&D earns its place when it makes future assumptions testable rather than debatable.

R&D makes future assumptions testable.

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