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OS X Kernel Overview

Posted by timothy on from the well-done-online-book dept.

Don Negro writes: "Found this on Apple's Developer site. A solid overview of the OS X kernel - what bits are Mach, what bits are BSD - and a good level a detail. This is the first installment. As they say in the introduction 'Only you can prevent kernel panics.'"

2 of 28 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I was going to read it... by Arandir · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Now, I'm scared. Honestly, after reading through that introduction, I'm scared to touch kernel code. Hell, I'm scared to look at it.

    That's kernel code for you :-)

    You can be the best programmer in the world, know assembly/C/C++ inside and out, and all that jazz, but when you hit kernel code it's like a different reality.

    --
    A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
  2. Re:I was going to read it... by pthisis · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From Alan Cox, in the kerneltrap interview running on the front page of slashdot right now:

    Ignore everyone who tells you kernel hacking is hard, special or different. It's a large program, and bug fixing or driver tweaking can be a best starting point. It is however not magic, nor written in a secret language that only deep initiates with beards can read.

    Play with it, try things, break it horribly and enjoy yourself. I started on the networking code because it didn't work very well. Everything I knew about TCP/IP I had downloaded the same day I started hacking the net code. My first attempts were not pretty but it was *fun*.

    Sumner

    --
    rage, rage against the dying of the light