Title: What is a Kernel?
Course: CIS 121: Linux/UNIX I: Fundamentals ~ For IGNITE Review > Section: Learning Modules

Kernel (computing)

In computing, the kernel is a computer program that manages input/output requests from software and translates them into data processing instructions for the central processing unit and other electronic components of a computer. The kernel is a fundamental part of a modern computer's operating system.

Source: Wulf, W., (1974). Hydra: The kernel of a multiprocessor operating system. CACM17, 337-345. Retrieved from http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~rywang/02f518/papers/hydra.pdf