What kind of C++ would I have to learn to make my own OS kernel? [closed]

Answer 1

For a number of technical reasons, Linux is not programmed in any language besides C. For various political reasons, few other os'es are programmed C++.

If you want to learn about programming kernels, the Minix operating system/microkernel is expressly designed for learning operating system design. It's small and minimal. It is also programmed in C.

Answer 2

Newos is a good C++ kernel. So are eCos, and L4. Newos is a microkernel by a former BeOS developer. L4 is also a microkernel, famous for its incredibly fast message passing. And eCos is a monolithic kernel.

Answer 3

Given your choices today there's absolutely no reason to "make" an OS. Learn a language really well and get really comfortable with Windows or a variation of Linux. C or C++ is great to learn.

Edit for clarification - my point is that it's both unrealistic and borderline insanity to attempt to learn a language for the first time by making an Operating System. At minimum a really good background in C is a requirement, otherwise start making applications and leverage the power of existing OS's before attempting to roll your own.

Answer 4

All. This is not a trivial task, you need to learn most facets of the language, I would recommend looking up kernel programming. From the looks of it I would look up logical theories and paradigms for programming languages before embedding yourself in syntax. There are hardware layers and just so so much you will need to learn well more so than from an answer you are going to get on this site or by doing a google search.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

http://www.brokenthorn.com/Resources/OSDevIndex.html

Answer 6

I would not recommend using C++ when making a monolithic kernel, period. However, if you are contemplating a microkernel design, you could write the servers (networking, console, fs, vfs, etc) in C++, while keeping the kernel itself tight with C / inline asm.

Then again, if your just going for x86, it doesn't matter as much.

What are the design goals of your OS?