Apr 01 ADC Direct
Volume Number: 17
Issue Number: 4
Column Tag: ADC Direct
Darwin: Mac OS X’s Core OS
By John Signa
Beneath Mac OS X's user-friendly and attractive user interface, Aqua, and the
application frameworks (Classic, Carbon and Cocoa) is Darwin: Mac OS X's core OS.
Unseen by users, Darwin provides a strong yet flexible foundation with features like
preemptive multitasking, protected memory and real-time support that make Mac OS
X a truly modern operating system.
The focus of this article is to provide a brief overview of Darwin and its components as
well as give an introduction to developing kernel extensions-modules that extend
Darwin's functionality. For more in-depth information, you should read Inside Mac OS
X: Kernel Environment which is available, along with other documents referred to in
this article, on the Apple Developer Connection (ADC) web site in the Mac OS X
Documentation section: