In computing, a loadable kernel module (or LKM) is an object file that contains code to extend the running kernel, or so-called base kernel, of an operating system. LKMs are typically used to add support for new hardware and/or filesystems, or for adding system calls. When the functionality provided by an LKM is no longer required, it can be unloaded in order to free memory and other resources.
Most current Unix-like systems, and Microsoft Windows, support loadable kernel modules, although they might use a different name for them, such as kernel loadable module (kld) in FreeBSD and kernel extension (kext) in OS X. They are also known as Kernel Loadable Modules (or KLM), and simply as Kernel Modules (KMOD).
Read more about Loadable Kernel Module: Advantages, Linux, FreeBSD, OS X, Fragmentation Penalty, Binary Compatibility, Security
Famous quotes containing the word kernel:
“All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut.”
—Anne Brontë (1820–1849)