ADC Home > Leopard Reference Library > Leopard Reference > Darwin >

Jump To: Darwin Resources     Reference Library         Guides •      Reference         Release Notes         Sample Code         Technical Notes         Technical Q&As

Leopard Reference: Darwin

Kernel

The Mac OS X kernel is the fundamental layer of the Mac OS X operating system. This environment includes the I/O Kit, the Mach kernel, and a BSD personality layer. Apple discourages developers from programming in the kernel, because kernel bugs can reduce the stability of the entire system. Many device drivers can be written entirely in user space and should be, where possible.