For most people, "operating system" is not synonymous with "kernel". I like C, but a lot of userland programs that are often considered to offer "operating sys

For most people, "operating system" is not synonymous with "kernel". I like C, but a lot of userland programs that are often considered to offer "operating system" functionality could tolerate being written in a safer language. OTOH, C is probably "good enough" as the lingua franca.