How to write a simple operating system

This document shows you how to write and build your first operating system in x86 assembly language. It explains what you need, the fundamentals of the PC boot process and assembly language, and how to take it further. The resulting OS will be very small (fitting into a bootloader) and have very few features, but it's a starting point for you to explore further.

After you have read the guide, see the MikeOS project for a bigger x86 assembly language OS that you can explore to expand your skills.

Requirements

Prior programming experience is essential. If you've done some coding in a high-level language like PHP or Java, that's good, but ideally you'll have some knowledge of a lower-level language like C, especially on the subject of memory and pointers.

For this guide we're using Linux. OS development is certainly possible on Windows, but it's so much easier on Linux as you can get a complete development toolchain in a few mouse-clicks/commands. Linux is also really good for making floppy disk and CD-ROM images - you don't need to install loads of fiddly programs.

Installing Linux is very easy thesedays; grab Ubuntu and install it in VMware or VirtualBox if you don't want to dual-boot. When you're in Ubuntu, get all the tools you need to follow this guide by entering this in a terminal window:

sudo apt-get install build-essential qemu nasm
This gets you the development toolchain (compiler etc.), QEMU PC emulator and the NASM assembler, which converts assembly language into raw machine code executable files.

Read more: Mike Saunders and MikeOS Developers

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