Where Do I Start?

[GLI_Founder]

Hello. I am looking to design an OS which is GUI based. There is only one problem. I have never attampted to write an OS before!!! I am a straight up newbie with nothing more than a dream. Where should I start? What programs should I use and are there any programs for designing OSes which are free? What should I learn? What do I need to know? Tell me anything that is essential to OS design or even give me some advice or steer me in the right direction. I am extremely determined to make my drwam a reality, and I hope anyone is willing to enlighten me.

[bubach]

To get your OS to do the most basic things, like multitasking, memory management etc, it's esier to start without a GUI.
You can of course change it to a GUI system later, but to learn the basics it's best to start in textmode.

[JAAman]

definatly -- proper GUI development requires that other parts of the OS be in place already (including mem manager, and task handler) -- plus GUI development is a very large task, and until the basics are finished, you wouldn't be able to do anything else -- so start simpler, write the more basic stuff first, relying on text input/output until you have:
paging handler
task handler
mem-manager
ring3
disk drivers

once this stuff is worked out, you will know if it is time to work on a GUI

[GLI_Founder]

Thanks a bunch, but if im starting with nothing and don't know what I need in order to accomplish these things, what do I need to learn? Remember, I am a complete virgin to this stuff. I don't know any code, or even know what software I need to design this stuff. I'm clueless! So, where do I start in the area of the begining?

[Da_Maestro]

First thing to learn: Basic programming skills. Google is your friend. Search for tutorials in as many different languages that you know of. Pascal is great for learning, and it is structularly similar to C. C is great to learn, but learn it last! It will be the language that you use to create your OS.

Then you need to study the theory. Read [url="http://www.osdev.org/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&t=536"]this[/url] forum thread. There is a good selection of books to choose from. Or you can one again befriend google and search the net.

Then you can start coding. After all is said and done, you will need to decide what your OS is going to be capable off. Take notes on your thoughts and remember that designing on paper using pictures is easier than designing using code...

[Smith]

you could try Linux From Scratch:

www.linuxfromscratch.org