Nukernel

NuKernel

Developer	Jeff Robbin, Thomas E. Saulpaugh, Bill M. Bruffey, Russell T. Williams
Working state	Discontinued
Source model	Closed-source
Initial release	1994; 30 years ago (1994)
Final release	Patent filing / 1996 (1996)
Marketing target	Personal computers
Available in	English
Platforms	PowerPC
Kernel type	Microkernel
Default user interface	GUI
License	Proprietary
Preceded by	Mach
Succeeded by	XNU

NuKernel is a microkernel that was developed at Apple Computer during the early 1990s. It was the basis for the Copland operating system. It was written from scratch and designed using concepts from the Mach 3.0 microkernel, with extensive additions for soft real-time scheduling to improve multimedia performance. Only one NuKernel version was released, with a Copland alpha release. Development ended in 1996 with the cancellation of Copland.

The External Reference Specification (ERS) for NuKernel is contained in its entirety in its patent.[1]

The one-time technical lead for NuKernel, Jeff Robbin, was one of the leaders of iTunes and the iPod.

Apple's NuKernel is not the microkernel in BeOS, nukernel.

See also

• XNU, the microkernel in Mac OS X

References

1. US patent 5590334, Saulpaugh, Thomas E.; Bruffey, Bill M. & Williams, Russell T., "Object oriented message passing system and method", published 1996-12-31, issued 1996-12-31, assigned to Apple Computer