I grew up with the understanding that "systems programming" is the opposite of "application programming", or, in other words, the opposite of "programs that the

I grew up with the understanding that "systems programming" is the opposite of "application programming", or, in other words, the opposite of "programs that the end user will use". So that would include the kernel, but also anything between the kernel and the end user, including compilers, servers, and so on. Yes, it's a blurry line.