Get To Know Mach, the Kernel of Mac OS X

An anonymous reader writes "Linux is a kernel, not an operating system. So what is Mac OS X's kernel? The Mach microkernel. The debate around Monolithic (Linux) and Micro (Mach) kernels continues, and there is a great chapter online about the Mach system from the very good book 'Operating System Concepts'. Which design is better? I report, you decide." Warning: link is to a PDF.

Comments

Tannenbaum Vs Torvalds

[medgooroo]

If only they posted on /. GNAA-tastic.

Re:They're both better!

[AusG4]

What's better? C++ or Java? What's better? IE or Mozilla?

That's simple:

Objective-C and Safari. :P

Seriously though... yours is easily the best answer to the question posed. Anyone who actually -answers- categorically in either direction is an idiot. The answer to the question is different in every situation.

Ultimately, with an operting system, it's hard to tell just which kernel design is better anyways. Very few users interact with the kernel directly. :) As far as I'm concerned, I can launch Firefox on Linux or I can launch Firefox on the Mac - both load the program, both of them provide networking, both of them provide a file system in which to cache the pages I load and save my bookmarks and most importantly both of them ultimately allow me to read Slashdot.

If launching Firefox and reading Slashdot was my only use of a computer, then the kernels are exactly as good as each other because they've both solved the same problem in a satisfactory manner.

Posting the article about how the Mach kernel was cool, but for gods sakes /. - why be pricks and include the childish "which is better, you decide" crap at the end? Just plain lame....