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This message generated a parse failure. Raw output follows here. Please use 'back' to navigate. From devnull@lkml.org Sun Oct 12 10:35:02 2008 Received: from entropy.muc.muohio.edu (entropy.muc.muohio.edu [134.53.193.10]) by herbie.ucs.indiana.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id CAA01749 for ; Fri, 23 Jan 1998 02:21:45 -0500 (EST) Received: from vger.rutgers.edu (root@vger.rutgers.edu [128.6.190.2]) by entropy.muc.muohio.edu (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id CAA17176; Fri, 23 Jan 1998 02:16:18 -0500 Received: by vger.rutgers.edu id <970963-11737>; Fri, 23 Jan 1998 01:30:38 -0500 Received: from sun4.apsoft.com ([207.167.88.62]:34642 "EHLO sun4.apsoft.com" ident: "NO-IDENT-SERVICE") by vger.rutgers.edu with ESMTP id <971554-11737>; Fri, 23 Jan 1998 00:42:39 -0500 Received: (from pedward@localhost) by sun4.apsoft.com (8.8.3/8.8.3) id VAA24927; Thu, 22 Jan 1998 21:40:52 -0800 (PST) From: Perry Harrington Message-Id: <199801230540.VAA24927@sun4.apsoft.com> Subject: Re: how to learn kernel programming To: Dave@imladris.demon.co.uk (David Woodhouse) Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 21:40:51 -0800 (PST) Cc: alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk, linux-kernel@vger.rutgers.edu In-Reply-To: from "David Woodhouse" at Jan 23, 98 03:40:37 am X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24] Content-Type: text X-Orcpt: rfc822;linux-kernel@vger.rutgers.edu Sender: owner-linux-kernel@vger.rutgers.edu Precedence: bulk > > > > I consider myself fairly competent C(++) programmer. What is a good > > > source of info on kernel and low-level programming? So many books these > > > days are written so you can print "hello world" in a MS window, not how > > > to swap pages of vm. I do not believe reading the source will help > > > much, I am more of a book learner. > > > > Böhme et.al, Linux Kernel Programming, Addison Wesley 1998 (3rd(?) edition) > > > > Regards, > > Martin > > Beware, however, that any book is going to be fairly out of date in a number > of areas. Be prepared to refer to the source at frequent intervals. > I usually tell people that their first port of call should be the source code, > then myself, then this list. > > The books can be very useful if you are new to the style and layout of the > Linux kernel, or of such low level code in general, but remember to take the > precise definitions of structures etc. with a pinch of salt. > > As an aside, I tend to find that I learn virtually nothing from sitting down > and reading source code. I do, however, learn a great deal by tracing source > code in an attempt to examine a particular execution path in detail. > > I would recommend a newcomer to the scene to start, as you would with a new > programming language, with a "hello world" program (or module, in this case), > and work your way up. Think of something trivial which you want to change or > implement, and you'll be amazed at how much you learn about the kernel > structure when looking for particular pieces of code in it. I for one would absolutely love a technical step through of the Net subsystem, written by Alan Cox. ;) I have read the KHG on sk_buffs, device drivers, etc, but I feel a good explanation that outlines what modules exists, what they do, and the conceptual and semantic interelation of the various code modules. > > Also, don't be afraid to ask for help - people on this list are almost always > prepared to answer questions if you seem to have made a genuine attempt to > find the answer. It's often quicker to get a response back from the list than > it is to answer your own question. > > Happy Hacking. -- Perry Harrington Linux rules all OSes. APSoft () email: perry@apsoft.com Think Blue. /\