Operating system development

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Operating system development is the process of developing operating systems. The activity, as well as the sub-culture surrounding it, is often referred to as OSDev.

[edit] Development

Elements of traditional PC based operating systems include:

• Kernel:
  • Bootstrapping
  • Memory management
  • In the case of a multitasking operating system, task management and scheduling
  • Device driver management

Traditionally, kernel developers have commonly used the C programming language and Assembly. As history has shown, low-level languages are gradually replaced by high-level languages as the processing power of computers increases. C, however, remains the favorite for most OS developers, as it provides low-level pointer manipulation and requires no run-time support (as opposed to some elements of C++, such as the new and delete operators).

[edit] See also

• List of operating systems
• Computer architecture
• Osdev (channel)

[edit] External References

• OSDev.org - A hobby OSDev community
• aodfaq - Extensive and editable OS development FAQ
• Bona Fide OS Development - Store of OS development tutorials and other documents
• Operating System Resource Center - Information and resources on various OSDev topics (both software and hardware)