Regarding testing of OS Development specific Code

[supratim chakraborty]

I searched on the internet for an apt answer but i couldn't find one so i
thought this could be a newbie-friendly place to shoot the doubt

I have developed an interest in OS development (kernel) and have
successfully built/compiled/configured the kernel source but i would like
to know as to how do OS developers test their code ,as in-  it could be
really painful to make some changes to the code and then again recompile
the entire kernel , make a new image and then boot from that

in essence it would require - 1. Making changes 2. Compiling 3. Reflashing
the kernel 4. Rebooting the machine (physical or virtual as the case may be)

So I am pretty sure that this is not the way the work's done , so can i
have the needed enlightenment as to how do OS developers go about making
hacks /changes to the code and then testing the new build

Regards
Supratim Chakraborty
about.me/borax12
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