Kernel
The core component of the Linux operating system that manages hardware resources and provides essential services to software.
The Linux kernel is the fundamental component of the Linux operating system, acting as a bridge between applications and the physical hardware of a computer. Written primarily in C, it was first released by Linus Torvalds in 1991. The kernel handles critical tasks including process management, memory allocation, device driver management, file system operations, and networking. It operates in a privileged mode (kernel space) separate from user applications (user space), providing security and stability. The kernel is monolithic but modular, meaning additional functionality can be loaded and unloaded at runtime through kernel modules. Every Linux distribution is built around the Linux kernel, making it the single shared component across all distros.