# Operating System

Operating System (OS) is normally a hugely complex program that's typically installed before any other program and serves as a platform for running other programs as well as managing resources (CPU usage, [RAM](ram.md), [files](file.md), [network](network.md), ...) and offering services and interfaces for humans and programs.

There is a nice [CC0](cc0.md) wiki for OS development at https://wiki.osdev.org/.

From programmer's point of view a serious OS is one of the most difficult pieces of software one can pursue to develop. The task involves an enormous amount of [low-level](low_level.md) programming, development of own tools from scratch and requires deep and detailed knowledge of all components of a computer, of established standards as well as many theoretical subjects such as [compiler](compiler.md) design.

An OS, as a software, consists of two main parts:

- **[kernel](kernel.md)**: The base/core of the system, running in the most privileged mode, offering an environment for user applications.
- **[userland](userland.md) (applications)**: The set of programs running on top of the kernel. These run in lower-privileged mode and use the services offered by the kernel via so called [system calls](syscall.md).

For example in GNU/Linux, [Linux](linux.md) is the kernel and [GNU](gnu.md) is the userland.

## Attributes/Features

TODO

## Notable Operating Systems

Below are some of the most notable OSes.

- [Android](android.md)
- [BSD](bsd.md) systems such as [OpenBSD](openbsd.md) and [freeBSD](freebsd.md): Unix-like OSes
- [Collapse OS](collapseos.md)
- [DOS](dos.md), [FreeDOS](freedos.md)
- [GNU](gnu.md)/[Linux](linux.md) systems encompassing many [distributions](distro.md)
- [Inferno](inferno.md): OS in the style of Plan 9
- [MacOS](macos.md)
- [Minix](minix.md)
- [Plan 9](plan9.md): research OS, continuing the ideas of [Unix](unix.md)
- [ReactOS](reactos.md)
- [Replicant](replicant.md)
- [Solaris](solaris.md)
- [TempleOS](templeos.md): simple [meme](meme.md) OS written by a [Terry Davis](terry_davis.md)
- [Unix](unix.md)
- [Windows](windows.md): very bad [proprietary](proprietary.md) [capitalist](capitalist_software.md) OS
- [9front](9front.md): OS based on Plan 9