Darwin (operating system)

Darwin
Developer	Apple Inc.
Written in	C, C++, Objective-C, assembly language
OS family	Unix, FreeBSD, BSD
Working state	Current
Source model	currently open source with proprietary components[citation needed], previously open source
Initial release	November 15, 2000
Latest release	23.4.0 / March 5, 2024
Repository	github.com/apple-oss-distributions/distribution-macOS
Platforms	Current: x86-64, 64-bit ARM, 32-bit ARM (32-bit ARM support is closed-source); Historical: PowerPC (32-bit and 64-bit), IA-32
Kernel type	Hybrid (XNU)
Influenced by	NeXTSTEP, FreeBSD, BSD
Default; user interface	Command-line interface (Unix shell)
License	Mostly Apple Public Source License (APSL), with closed-source drivers
Official website	opensource.apple.com

Darwin is the core Unix operating system of macOS (previously OS X and Mac OS X), iOS, watchOS, tvOS, iPadOS, visionOS, and bridgeOS. It previously existed as an independent open-source operating system, first released by Apple Inc. in 2000. It is composed of code derived from NeXTSTEP, FreeBSD,^[3] other BSD operating systems,^[6] Mach, and other free software projects' code, as well as code developed by Apple.

Darwin is mostly POSIX-compatible, but has never, by itself, been certified as compatible with any version of POSIX. Starting with Leopard, macOS has been certified as compatible with the Single UNIX Specification version 3 (SUSv3).^[7]^[8]^[9]

^ "Kernel Architecture Overview". Kernel Programming Guide.
^ "darwin-xnu/README.md at master". GitHub. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Apple BSD Overview". Apple. 2002. Retrieved January 1, 2002.
^ "Apple - Public Source - Darwin FAQ". Archived from the original on November 19, 2004. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
^ "Binary Drivers required for PureDarwin". Archived from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
^ "1. System Overview". NeXTstep Concepts. NeXT. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
^ "Mac OS X Leopard - Technology - UNIX". Leopard Technology Overview. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on December 27, 2008. Leopard is now an Open Brand UNIX 03 Registered Product, conforming to the SUSv3 and POSIX 1003.1 specifications for the C API, Shell Utilities, and Threads.
^ The Open Group (May 18, 2007). "Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard on Intel-based Macintosh computers certification". Retrieved February 11, 2013.
^ "macOS version 10.13 High Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Retrieved November 19, 2017.

[1] "Kernel Architecture Overview". Kernel Programming Guide.

[2] "darwin-xnu/README.md at master". GitHub. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.

[apple_bsd_overview-3] "Apple BSD Overview". Apple. 2002. Retrieved January 1, 2002.

[4] "Apple - Public Source - Darwin FAQ". Archived from the original on November 19, 2004. Retrieved August 9, 2021.

[5] "Binary Drivers required for PureDarwin". Archived from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.

[6] "1. System Overview". NeXTstep Concepts. NeXT. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.

[7] "Mac OS X Leopard - Technology - UNIX". Leopard Technology Overview. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on December 27, 2008. Leopard is now an Open Brand UNIX 03 Registered Product, conforming to the SUSv3 and POSIX 1003.1 specifications for the C API, Shell Utilities, and Threads.

[8] The Open Group (May 18, 2007). "Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard on Intel-based Macintosh computers certification". Retrieved February 11, 2013.

[9] "macOS version 10.13 High Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Retrieved November 19, 2017.

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