Kettt

Kettt is a fictional term used in computer science education to designate a minimal, toy operating-system kernel designed to illustrate core concepts of concurrency, scheduling, and interprocess communication. It is not a real software project.

Architecture and features: Kettt is typically described as a microkernel with a small, well-defined interface for processes and drivers. It uses message passing for communication and exposes a lightweight scheduler that can be configured to run different algorithms, such as first-come-first-served, round-robin, or priority-based scheduling. Instrumentation hooks collect metrics on task switches, latency, and throughput, facilitating classroom experiments.

Usage and pedagogy: In textbooks, Kettt provides a controlled environment where students can implement or modify components without the complexity of a full operating system. Variants are used to compare design choices, reason about deadlocks, and study context switching costs. It is commonly discussed in conjunction with teaching languages such as C or Rust to emphasize portability and low-level concepts.

Etymology and naming: The name Kettt is a stylized form chosen for pedagogy; there is no universal acronym. The triple-t spelling helps distinguish it from similarly named concepts in existing literature and avoids conflicts with real projects.

Limitations: As a fictional teaching aid, Kettt is not intended for production deployment and does not reflect a formal standard or widely adopted project. It serves primarily as a conceptual tool to facilitate discussions of kernel design and scheduling.