Simple Kernel???

[KernelX]

I am a new to Osdevelopment.I have no idea where to start with, I know C.
What must a kernel have?
What must be it functions?
What knowledge do I need to make my own kernel?
Can anyone please list out some common stuff required for developing a Kernel.

Thanks in advance.

[AJ]

Hi,

This stuff is all on the wiki and has been asked on the forums (recently) too. Start with Getting Started and work from there. If you have programmed with C you will have used a libc and API calls. Think about the support you get from the host OS when you are developping applications. If you are writing an OS, that's the sort of framework your application developpers will expect you to provide.

Cheers,
Adam

[KernelX]

Oh yea! Got it.Going through the site.

Thank You, looks these forum are a good place to get through.

[Brendan]

Hi,

What must a kernel have?
What must be it functions?

There's major differences between "must" and "should". There is nothing that a kernel must have.

A kernel should have a description that describes what type of kernel it is. For example, an exo-kernel is very different to a monolithic kernel (with radically different functions).

What knowledge do I need to make my own kernel?

I'd recommend learning about various kernel types (exo-kernel, micro-kernel, monolithic kernel) and various ways of doing IPC (messages, pipes, etc); plus understanding what "real-time" means. These things tend to have a large impact on the nature of the kernel.

Can anyone please list out some common stuff required for developing a Kernel.

The Required Knowledge list might help here. I'd probably add some more to it - some sort of goal that makes the OS/kernel unique, a lot of spare time for development, and pizza.


Cheers,

Brendan

[KernelX]

My list of the things what a basic 32-bit PMode kernel must have.
1)Enable A_20
2)GDT,LDT,IDT
3)Screen Functions(printf,cursor,clrscr,etc)
4)Interrupt Management(ISRS too)
5)Memory Manager
6)Timer
7)Keyboard

Thats All!!!!
Also a good bootsector.
Hope that's enough for a day of hardware work!!!

[turdus]

My list of the things what a basic 32-bit PMode kernel must have.

Neither a "must have" really.

1)Enable A_20

It could've been done already (e.g. by grub)

2)GDT,LDT,IDT

LDT is definitely not a must.

3)Screen Functions(printf,cursor,clrscr,etc)

What about serial consoles?

4)Interrupt Management(ISRS too)

You can skip ISRs for IRQs (see polling).

5)Memory Manager

You can allocate all necessary memory for the kernel at boottime, so no kernel memory manager needed.

6)Timer

You can left it out if you choose cooperative multitasking.

7)Keyboard

Again, what about serial consoles? As a matter of fact, neither of my servers have any screens or keyboards, yet I'm able to communicate with them.

Thats All!!!!
Also a good bootsector.
Hope that's enough for a day of hardware work!!!

A good bootsector doesn't exists either. Simply because it has one purpose: load the kernel. That cannot be done in good or bad way. If it's get loaded, the bootsector is functional, regardless of how it's accomplished.

I think you should spend more time on theory first. Read Tanenbaum's book at least (focusing on theory, not implementation details).

[Combuster]

Are you Yashas?