4 ms·

I am not a programmer (yet). I am an openBSD fanboy. I've read stories of people reading the code and raving about the quality. It does tick 2 of the checkboxes

• fasterik 3y ago
  Yes, I think so. Being written by one person isn't a hard requirement, it's just that I feel like you get a better sense of programming style and someone's approach to problem solving when you read code that hasn't been touched by too many people. Projects with a maintainer who strictly enforces code style and quality would still fit the description. From what I've heard, OpenBSD falls under this category. I'll add it to my list.
• sobolopq 3y ago
  If people are interested in looking at Unix kernel implementations: Open Solaris code is out there, too. Now, i haven't looked at it myself (not a kernel hacker) and it's more like the exact opposite of a one person effort, but i heard praises about its alleged code quality more than once. So it might be educative (as far as the design of a commercial Unix kernel goes).
• kramerger 3y ago
  Can confirm. I needed to learn how a very specific OS thing worked and I read the code from Linux, openbsd, L4, hurd, minix, and a few other projects. The openBSD kernel code was easiest to follow because it favored simplicity over all other things (improved security was just a byproduct). For the record, the microkernels where hardest to follow despite having tons of books and a few experts nearby. But that's a whole different discussion