User space and kernel space
Way of using computer memory / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Kernel space" redirects here. For the mathematical definition, see Null space.
For the user space on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:User pages.
A modern computer operating system usually uses virtual memory to provide separate address spaces, or separate regions of a single address space, called user space and kernel space.[1][lower-alpha 1] Primarily, this separation serves to provide memory protection and hardware protection from malicious or errant software behaviour.
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Kernel space is strictly reserved for running a privileged operating system kernel, kernel extensions, and most device drivers. In contrast, user space is the memory area where application software and some drivers execute, typically one address space per process.