An "oops" is a Linux kernel problem bad enough that it may affect system reliability.

Some "oops"es are bad enough that the kernel decides to stop running immediately, lest there be data loss or other damage. These are called kernel panics.

The latter term is primordial, going back to the very earliest versions of Linux's Unix forebears, which also print a "panic" message on the console when they happen. The original AT&T Unix kernel function that handles such conditions is called panic(). You can trace it back through the public source code rele...