Advanced Kernel with Keyboard and Screen Support

A modern, feature-rich kernel implementation written in C and Assembly, featuring comprehensive hardware support and advanced system capabilities.

Features

• Multiboot2 Compliant: Compatible with GRUB and other multiboot-compliant bootloaders
• VGA Text Mode Driver: Full-featured 80x25 character display with color support
• PS/2 Keyboard Driver: Complete keyboard input handling with scancode translation
• Memory Management: Physical and virtual memory management with paging
• Interrupt Handling: Comprehensive interrupt descriptor table and exception handling
• Dynamic Memory: Kernel heap with malloc/free functionality
• System Calls: Basic system call interface for kernel services
• Interactive Shell: Built-in command-line interface for kernel interaction
• Timer Support: Programmable Interval Timer for scheduling and timing

System Requirements

• Architecture: x86 (32-bit)
• Bootloader: GRUB or any Multiboot2-compliant bootloader
• Memory: Minimum 4MB RAM
• Hardware: VGA-compatible graphics, PS/2 keyboard

Build Requirements

• GCC cross-compiler for i686-elf target
• GNU Make
• NASM assembler
• GRUB utilities (grub-mkrescue)
• xorriso (for ISO creation)

Building

# Install dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt-get install build-essential nasm grub-pc-bin grub-common xorriso

# Build the kernel
make all

# Create bootable ISO
make iso

# Clean build artifacts
make clean

Running

In QEMU

# Run with QEMU
qemu-system-i386 -cdrom kernel.iso

# Run with debugging
qemu-system-i386 -cdrom kernel.iso -s -S

In VirtualBox

1. Create a new VM with at least 32MB RAM
2. Mount the kernel.iso file as a CD/DVD
3. Boot the VM

Architecture

kernel/
├── src/
│   ├── boot/           # Bootloader and entry point
│   ├── kernel/         # Core kernel functionality
│   ├── drivers/        # Hardware drivers
│   └── include/        # Header files
├── build/              # Build artifacts
└── iso/               # ISO creation workspace

Development

The kernel is structured in a modular way:

• Boot: Assembly bootloader stub and kernel entry
• Kernel: Core system functionality and main loop
• Drivers: Hardware abstraction layer
• Memory: Physical and virtual memory management
• Interrupts: Exception and interrupt handling
• Shell: User interface and command processing

Project Motivation

This kernel was built to move beyond bootstrapping and explore how core operating system subsystems interact in a real execution environment. The goal was to understand interrupt handling, memory management, and device drivers as an integrated system, rather than as isolated components.

Limitations

• Single-core only
• No user-mode separation yet
• No filesystem support
• No SMP or preemptive multitasking

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• OSDev Wiki for comprehensive OS development documentation
• Multiboot2 specification
• x86 architecture references