OSDev.org

Well, after six weeks of development I have finally managed to create a basic text-only OS using GRUB as a bootloader. This OS includes a keyboard handler and a console driver, along with a few basic INTERNAL commands.

I would love to expand this to include a memory manager, a floppy driver, and a way of loading external programs. The problem is: I don't know anything about the aforementioned. Tim's tutorials are well above my head, I have yet to find good floppy drive documentation, and I have no idea how OS's load external programs. Today I made some progress my copying and pasting A.K.'s paging code, but it doesn't compile. And copying and pasting goes against my beliefs. How did everyone here manage to learn what they know to develop their OSs up to this point? Are there any books that could be helpful to me?

How about studying other operating systems, reading their source, and understanding how they do things?

Thanks for the reply, Tim. You're right, I'll start looking at Fritz 's and Cosmos's code, and maybe even the *groans* huge Linux kernel source (hopefully that won't be necessary).

Well. I can tell you, to load external code in protected mode you are going to have to find out how to talk to the floppy drive. I have yet to reach this point in my OS.
http://hf-mos.members.easyspace.com
Although, this may be a possible good place to start.
http://debs.future.easyspace.com/Progra ... loppy.html
You can go here and read my idea easy or not to loading and using modules.
http://www.invalidsoftware.net/home/mod ... m=2&jump=1
(might have to register for the above)
However, loading code before protected mode can be much easier using ASM, by simply calling the bios routine to read a sector from a floppy then jumping to the newly loaded code to run something. As far as multi-tasking goes you need to read about TSS. Mainly its all about structors aka format of things.

i think that we all got to MM and floppy and other adv. stages by looking at examples and digging into white sheets. Don't forget to experiemtn too to learn how to use it all. Halfix, ontouch.gotdns.org/~xsism/, is my OS and I am getting pretty far in it. I am deving the MM code now and maybe it could help you?

...

Plus, we have some good MM tutorials at Bona Fide OSdev osdev.neopages.net/tutorials.php. Also try our links section as we link to many other good resources. osdev.org has *some* good/working links and a forum.

...

Read past topics in this forum too as many have had similar questions a you which might have been answered already.

Hope you can do it PM me if you need my help. I am laso at #osdev @ irc.wyldryde.net

Regards,
mr. xsism