Introduction: Difference between revisions
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Whatever you goals, OSDev'ing is the great pinnacle of programming. But, you're not alone. In fact, this entire website, including the [http://forum.osdev.org forums] and this Wiki, are dedicated to OSDev'ing. This is not only about great programming skills, but is about community and developing friendships. Be those friendships between fellow forum members or IRQs and processes.
What do you need to succeed in OSDeving? You should read
Do you want to read a step-by-step tutorial to writing a basic kernel you can build upon? You should read [http://osdever.net/bkerndev/Docs/intro.htm Bran's Kernel Development Tutorial], and the article about [[Bran's Known Bugs]]. Once you know the bare basics, you may find some more tutorials at the [[Tutorials]] page.
Good luck! :)
== What is an Operating System? ==
Computer systems in general are a finite resource. Their entire purpose is to execute a set of instructions, something we commonly call a "program
== Why develop an OS? ==
There are a number of reasons why people choose to develop an operating system. Although each individual developer may have their own
* Having complete control over the machine. When developing an application or other userspace program, the developer has to take into consideration the code written by others: the operating system, the libraries, other programs, etc. It is a powerful feeling for the only code to be running on a machine to be your own.
* Research. Quite a few operating system projects are started as homework or research projects. While starting an operating system as a homework assignment in a pre-tertiary or first-year environment is generally considered a bad idea (due to short deadlines), a longer term project is quite fine. Research projects are usually undertaken to improve on the existing operating systems. A common beginner mistake, however, is to underestimate the time needed to write an operating system from scratch.
* To replace the currently available operating systems. Maybe they don't have a particular feature that the developer wants. Maybe they just generally suck (Linux is bloated, Windows is unstable, etc). This may be for profit; although any returns are likely to be a long time away.
* Because it's fun. Low level programming is a fun and exciting task, because you have to do everything. This may seem more difficult (it is, don't worry) but by the same reasons more fun. You know how everything works, how it all fits, and the inner-most workings of your program.
Unfortunately, many operating system projects are undertaken for the wrong reasons. See [[Beginner Mistakes]] for a list.
[[Category:OS Development]]
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