TempleOS

TempleOS
TempleOS 5.03
DeveloperTerry A. Davis
Written inHolyC and x86 Assembly
Working stateFinished
Source modelOpen-source
Initial release2005 (2005) (as J Operating System) 2013 (2013) (as TempleOS)
Latest release5.03 / November 20, 2017 (2017-11-20)
Repository
Supported platformsx64
Kernel typeMonolithic userland = UserCmdLine using HolyC, Adam (purpose unknown)
Default
user interface
16-color graphics, specifically created for TempleOS
LicensePublic domain
Official websitetempleos.org

TempleOS (formerly J Operating System, LoseThos, and SparrowOS) is a biblical-themed lightweight operating system (OS) designed to be the Third Temple from the Hebrew Bible. It was created by American computer programmer Terry A. Davis, who developed it alone over the course of a decade after a series of manic episodes that he later described as a revelation from God. TempleOS could be considered as an example of coding as an art form, with the nature of his psychological instability and its influence over the project lending to comparisons to similar outsider art (see also Creativity and mental health).

The system was characterized as a modern x86-64 Commodore 64, using an interface similar to a mixture of DOS and Turbo C. Davis proclaimed that the system's features, such as its 640×480 resolution, 16-color display, and single-voice audio, were designed according to explicit instructions from God. It was programmed with a custom JIT variant of C (named HolyC) in place of BASIC, and included an original flight simulator, compiler, and kernel.

First released in 2005 as J Operating System, TempleOS was renamed in 2013 and was last updated in 2017.