Linux Kernel

Definitions

1. The core of the Linux operating system — a monolithic, open-source kernel written primarily in C that manages hardware resources, process scheduling, memory, file systems, networking, and device drivers. It is the layer between user-space applications and physical hardware, and it powers everything from Android phones to cloud servers.

   In plain English: The central program in Linux that controls the hardware and lets all other software run — it is the foundation that Android, servers, and most of the cloud is built on.

   Example: "The eBPF feature in the Linux kernel lets us attach custom instrumentation to syscalls without building a kernel module."

Related Terms

• Cgroups
• Kernel Space
• Memory Layout
• Memory Management
• Microkernel
• OS Kernel
• Shared Library
• Signed Integer
• User Space
• Virtual File System
• Kernel Hacker
• Linux Distro
• Linux Distribution