Help with.. everything?

[Phoxpherus]

Yo.

I've been planning my OS for a while. I first decided to write one about a year ago. Downloaded some tutorials, etc. and they kinda made it all look quite easy. I know ASM/C++ etc... but... when it came to actually writing the OS... I've not got the first fucking clue. I downloaded one or two free OS'es (written in ASM) and had a scout over them... and they didn't help much.

So, now I have decided to put the actual OS production on hold, and instead, I want to study OS theory and what not. So far, from what I've read, I need knowledge of ports, sectors, file systems, etc... none of which I really have. I also don't really have the first clue how a Kernel works (I've looked around inside the Win98 kernel, and I've read about kernels on the net, but I am still clueless) ...

Could anyone here point me to some useful tutes on how OSes and computers communicate, and whatever else I'll need to know?

Thanks in advance.

[smiddy]

Here you go, enjoy! http://www.osdever.net/tutorials.php?cat=0&sort=1

[Phoxpherus]

Yo. Thanks for the link. I've read 10-20 of the tutes there, and I am sure they'll all be helpful later on, but, I was looking for something based on.. hmm.. hardware-level stuff? It's like, they talk about the CPU and the RAM and **** like that.. and they give examples of how to communicate.. BUT ... I haven't got much knowledge of the actual RAM or CPU themselves. So, I guess I'm looking for.. hardware tutorials?

Also, all of these in some way tie in with C language. And, I don't wanna code my OS in C .. I want it to be pure ASM. Is there anywhere that is perhaps more... ASM-based?

[smiddy]

Barry Brey has a book out that is on the 8086 (through Pentium IV) archetecture. In it he describes the layout of how everything works and interfacing. It is limp on protected mode stuff, but for hardware interfacing it is a gem. Here is a link to the book: http://vig.prenhall.com:8081/catalog/ac ... 42,00.html

The majority of his examples are in assembly language (MASM).

I realize you are looking at assembly as you language of choice, but don't shy away from C as there is a wealth of information to be gleened from those who write their's in C. C is easily converted to ASM. Some compilers will output an ASM file of the C code. Sometimes the only way of interpreting a piece of hardware (say RTL8139) is from the C source code example provided.

I would also recommend an associated pre-courses to this book since it is the nuts and bolts of how everything works.

Good luck!