OS X and iOS Kernel Programming

Summary

The operating system is responsible for managing the hardware resources in a computer. It provides an abstract model of the computer system to user programs, giving the appearance that each program has full access to the CPU and the entire memory range. Programs that are run by the user cannot touch hardware without calling upon services provided by the operating system. In handling services that involve peripheral hardware devices, the operating system may need to call functions provided by the driver of that device.

In subsequent chapters, we will put the concepts we have covered here into practice. We will introduce you to the interfaces provided by Mac OS X to allow drivers to work with virtual and physical memory addresses, respond ...