Low level systems programming with C++

Question

I have been using C++ for a while now and I began to get interested in lower level system programming like drivers and stuff. Even some kind of primitive operating system could be very interesting project!

I have no clue where I could start. Are there any not-too-challenging things I could get started with and are there anything about C++ I should try to avoid like exceptions in performance critical code?

My current OS is Windows 7 if that matters much.

Answer 1

Writing Windows device drivers in C++ isn't impossible, there are not many CRT functions that you could use to get you into trouble. The new operator is unusable for example, you don't have to fear a std::bad_alloc. Unless you replace it, that cuts out a rather large swath of standard C++ library classes.

But that's not really the point of a device driver, it is rather important that you make it as small as possible. C++ pays off when you write complex code. You explicitly do not want to write complex code in a device driver. Debugging it is redrum.

Linus really likes C in the kernel. There's a good reason for that.

Answer 2

C++ doesn't provide quite all of the tools you will need to actually implement a full operating system in it. There are a few machine specific things that cannot be done in c++. These things are handling and raising interrupts, controlling the MMU, controlling access to supervisor cpu instructions, and a handful of other small odds and ends.

Fortunately, these things are few enough that they can be written in assembly language accessed from C++.

Answer 3

Have a look at osdev.org (lots of questions that will pop into your mind when considering developing your own OS are answered here).