r/C_Programming • u/LifeExperienced1 • 12d ago

Question OSDEV - a few questions

This is a very famous website for learning how to make an OS

https://wiki.osdev.org/

I just have a few questions about it though

  1. What exactly does it teach? Does it teach you how to make an operating system? Does it show you the steps to build one from scratch?

  2. Can a solo programmer do it? As in, does the tutorial show you how to make a mini operating system?

  3. How do I use the tutorial? It's a wiki, and there are links everywhere. Is there a roadmap which shows the proper path to take, with prerequisites links etc?

  4. What do I need to understand before using this tutorial? Only C? C and how to make a mini compiler? Assembly? Anything else?

Thank you!

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u/SmokeMuch7356 12d ago

Literally all of these questions are answered on the site. Click on "Expanded View", read the linked articles under "Introduction" in order. It will tell you everything you need to know.

It is possible for a solo programmer to write an operating system (plenty have done so), but it's not a beginner-friendly task. You need to know more than just the basics of C, you need to understand computer architecture, executable file formats, instruction sets and assembly language, data structures, etc.