The BSD subsystem part of the code is “typically implemented as user-space servers in microkernel systems”. The acronym stands for “XNU is Not Unix.” According to Apple’s Github page, XNU is “a hybrid kernel combining the Mach kernel developed at Carnegie Mellon University with components from FreeBSD and C++ API for writing drivers”. The macOS kernel is officially known as XNU. Now it runs most of the world’s computing devices and the world’s supercomputers. It’s no longer a student’s small-time project. Over the last 27 years, Linux has slowly grown and gained features.

The following year Orest Zborowski ported the X Window System to Linux, giving it the ability to support a graphical user interface. Soon, he was receiving code and feature suggestions from all over the world. Linus posted the code for his new kernel to the Usenet in August of 1991. Originally, the kernel was written to the specifications of Linus’ computer because he wanted to take advantage of its new 80386 processor. Instead, it was created in 1991 by Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds. Unlike the macOS kernel, Linux was not created as part of a commercial endeavor. As part of the deal, Steve Jobs returned to Apple and NeXTSTEP became the foundation of macOS and iOS.

In 1997, Apple purchased NeXT for $429 million. Meanwhile, Apple had tried unsuccessfully on several occasions to update their operating system, even going so far as to partner with IBM. NeXT never became a financial success, due in part to Jobs’ habit of spending money like he was still at Apple. To save time, the NeXT team used the Mach kernel from Carnegie Mellon and parts of the BSD code base to created the NeXTSTEP operating system. Jobs wanted to get a new computer (with a new operating system) to market quickly. He then founded a new computer company named NeXT. In 1985, Steve Jobs left Apple due to a falling out with CEO John Sculley and the Apple board of directors. We will start with the history of the macOS kernel. Today, we will take a look at the difference between macOS and Linux kernels. The truth is that both kernels have very different histories and features. Some people even think that Apple’s macOS is based on Linux. Some people might think that there are similarities between the macOS and the Linux kernel because they can handle similar commands and similar software.

Macos diff