A Comparative Analysis of Operating Systems [Guest editorial]

During recent years the subject of operating systems has received much attention in the computer literature. This is not surprising, since operating systems are the backbone of computer systems, and our understanding of operating systems issues is closely tied to our comprehension of computer science in general. However, most of the available literature deals with theory or with specific implementations. Treatments providing a comparative discussion and analysis of commercial operating system designs are essentially nonexistent. And yet, there is much to be learned from such efforts. It is precisely this observation that motivated this special issue of Computer.