Kernel

Kernel may refer to:

Computing

• Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
• Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
• Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
• Kernel method, in machine learning
• Kernelization, a technique for designing efficient algorithms
  • Kernel, a routine that is executed in a vectorized loop, for example in general-purpose computing on graphics processing units
• KERNAL, the Commodore operating system

Mathematics

Objects

• Kernel (algebra), a general concept that includes:
  • Kernel (linear algebra) or null space, a set of vectors mapped to the zero vector
  • Kernel (category theory), a generalization of the kernel of a homomorphism
  • Kernel (set theory), an equivalence relation: partition by image under a function
  • Difference kernel, a binary equalizer: the kernel of the difference of two functions

Functions

• Kernel (geometry), the set of points within a polygon from which the whole polygon boundary is visible
• Kernel (statistics), a weighting function used in kernel density estimation to estimate the probability density function of a random variable
• Integral kernel or kernel function, a function of two variables that defines an integral transform
• Heat kernel, the fundamental solution to the heat equation on a specified domain
• Convolution kernel
• Stochastic kernel, the transition function of a stochastic process
• Transition kernel, a generalization of a stochastic kernel
• Pricing kernel, the stochastic discount factor used in mathematical finance
• Positive-definite kernel, a generalization of a positive-definite matrix
• Kernel trick, in statistics
• Reproducing kernel Hilbert space

Science

• Seed, inside the nut of most plants or the fruitstone of drupes, especially:
  • Apricot kernel
  • Corn kernel
  • Palm kernel
  • Wheat kernel
• Atomic nucleus, the center of an atom

Companies

• Kernel (agriculture company), a Ukrainian producer of sunflower oil
• Kernel (neurotechnology company), a developer of neural interfaces
• The Kernel Brewery, a craft brewery in London
• The Kernel, an Internet culture website, now part of The Daily Dot

Other uses

• Kernel (EP), by the band Seam
• Kernel Fleck, a character in The Demonata series of books
• Brigitte Kernel (born 1959), French journalist and writer

See also

• Colonel, a senior military officer rank that is pronounced "kernel"