A Methodology to Transform an OS-Based Application to a Bare Machine Application

This paper describes a novel approach to transform application programs that run with the support of an operating system or kernel to bare machine applications that run with no intermediary software of any kind in the machine. The general transformation methodology is based on a simple model that views application software as code with system header files and calls. These files and underlying system calls are removed in order to transform the application without understanding details of the application or its internal behavior. A Windows SQLite database engine application is chosen to illustrate the transformation process, and the transformed application is run on a bare PC to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach. The Microsoft Windows Visual Studio environment (IDE) is used to facilitate the transformation process. Sample database queries are run on a bare PC, and also in Visual Studio, and the results are validated by comparison. Currently, the application code is transformed manually, however, the experiences and skills acquired could be leveraged to develop an automated tool in the future. This methodology and transformation model serves as a basis for converting a variety of applications and other software to run on bare machines by achieving automatic ubiquity without a need for a virtual machine. When the general transformation methodology is fully tested, made robust, and automated, existing computer software can be transformed with little effort to make them independent of any operating environment.