A pseudo-OS ("pseudo" means "fake" and "OS" stands for "Operating System") is an operating system that runs within another operating system. All pseudo-OSes lack direct access to the system hardware and data and require a "true" operating system, or host operating system, to function.
Pseudo-OSes fall into four categories: virtual machines, emulators, web operating systems (also known as Internet pseudo-OSes), and executable. A virtual machine (such as VMware's products or Sun Microsystems's Java Virtual Machine) is a software application that runs on a host operating system and executes a pseudo-operating system within itself. Emulators (such as those for video-game consoles or other operating systems) also function like a virtual machine. A WebOS is an operating system that runs within a web browser and requires the web browser, which in turn requires a host operating system, to run. Finally, an executable pseudo-OS is an executable program that simulates an operating system. In all cases, the pseudo-OS's memory and hardware access attempts are controlled by the program it runs within, which is in turn controlled by the host operating system.
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