The kernel is a program that constitutes the central core of a computer operating system.

It has
complete control over everything that occurs in the system.
A kernel can be contrasted with a shell (such as bash, csh or ksh in Unix-like operating systems),
which is the outermost part of an operating system and a program that interacts with user
commands. The kernel itself does not interact directly with the user, but rather interacts with the
shell and other programs as well as with the hardware devices on the system, including the
processor (also called the central processing unit or CPU), memory and disk drives.
The kernel is the first part of the operating system to load into memory during booting (i.e.,
system startup), and it remains there for the entire duration of the computer session because its
services are required continuously. Thus it is important for it to be as small as possible while still
providing all the essential services needed by the other parts of the operating system and by the
various application programs.
Because of its critical nature, the kernel code is usually loaded into a protected area of memory,
which prevents it from being overwritten by other, less frequently used parts of the operating
system or by application programs. The kernel performs its tasks, such as executing processes
and handling interrupts, in kernel space, whereas everything a user normally does, such as
writing text in a text editor or running programs in a GUI (graphical user interface), is done in
user space. This separation is made in order to prevent user data and kernel data from interfering
with each other and thereby diminishing performance or causing the system to become unstable
(and possibly crashing).
When a computer crashes, it actually means the kernel has crashed. If only a single program has
crashed but the rest of the system remains in operation, then the kernel itself has not crashed. A
crash is the situation in which a program, either a user application or a part of the operating
system, stops performing its expected function(s) and responding to other parts of the system.
The program might appear to the user to freeze. If such program is a critical to the operation of
the kernel, the entire computer could stall or shut down.
The kernel provides basic services for all other parts of the operating system, typically including
memory management, process management, file management and I/O (input/output)
management (i.e., accessing the peripheral devices). These services are requested by other parts
of the operating system or by application programs through a specified set of program interfaces
referred to as system calls.
Process management, possibly the most obvious aspect of a kernel to the user, is the part of the
kernel that ensures that each process obtains its turn to run on the processor and that the
individual processes do not interfere with each other by writing to their areas of memory. A
process, also referred to as a task, can be defined as an executing (i.e., running) instance of a
program.

The contents of a kernel vary considerably according to the operating system, but they typically
include (1) a scheduler, which determines how the various processes share the kernel's
processing time (including in what order), (2) a supervisor, which grants use of the computer to
each process when it is scheduled, (3) an interrupt handler, which handles all requests from the
various hardware devices (such as disk drives and the keyboard) that compete for the kernel's
services and (4) a memory manager, which allocates the system's address spaces (i.e., locations
in memory) among all users of the kernel's services.
The kernel should not be confused with the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). The BIOS is an
independent program stored in a chip on the motherboard (the main circuit board of a computer)
that is used during the booting process for such tasks as initializing the hardware and loading the
kernel into memory. Whereas the BIOS always remains in the computer and is specific to its
particular hardware, the kernel can be easily replaced or upgraded by changing or upgrading the
operating system or, in the case of Linux, by adding a newer kernel or modifying an existing
kernel.
Most kernels have been developed for a specific operating system, and there is usually only one
version available for each operating system. For example, the Microsoft Windows 2000 kernel is
the only kernel for Microsoft Windows 2000 and the Microsoft Windows 98 kernel is the only
kernel for Microsoft Windows 98. Linux is far more flexible in that there are numerous versions
of the Linux kernel, and each of these can be modified in innumerable ways by an informed user.
A few kernels have been designed with the goal of being suitable for use with any operating
system. The best known of these is the Mach kernel, which was developed at Carnegie-Mellon
University and is used in the Macintosh OS X operating system.
It is not necessary for a computer to have a kernel in order for it to be usable, the reason being
that it is not necessary for it to have an operating system. That is, it is possible to load and run
programs directly on bare metal machines (i.e., computers without any operating system
installed), although this is usually not very practical.
In fact, the first generations of computers used bare metal operation. However, it was eventually
realized that convenience and efficiency could be increased by retaining small utility programs,
such as program loaders and debuggers, in memory between applications. These programs
gradually evolved into operating system kernels.
The term kernel is frequently used in books and discussions about Linux, whereas it is used less
often when discussing some other operating systems, such as the Microsoft Windows systems.
The reasons are that the kernel is highly configurable in the case of Linux and users are
encouraged to learn about and modify it and to download and install updated versions. With the
Microsoft Windows operating systems, in contrast, there is relatively little point in discussing
kernels because they cannot be modified or replaced.