Kernel Hear it!

Kernel definition - hacker
The heart or essential component of any operating system. When computer users say something like, “Oh no, my computer crashed!” what they are really saying is, “Oh, no, my kernel has crashed!” The primary function of the kernel is to coordinate different parts of the operating system—the disk drive, access to memory, the programs and processes, input/output devices such as the mouse and the keyboard, as well as networking.

See Also: Computer.

Webster's New World Hacker Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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