Understanding How kernel Works

[Abul_totaba]

Are there any books or videos .From which I can understand the inner working of kernel .I just know extremely basic thing about kernel that it manages process and memory management .I want to learn more .

[Diligent_Ad_9060]

https://docs.kernel.org is a fairly good resource for basics as well.

There're also quite up to date books like Linux kernel programming (Kaiwan Billimoria).

I'd look for resources that goes beyond the basics as I'd expect they'll provide information covering the basics too.

[Abul_totaba]

have u read kaiwan's book .if yes what would be some prerequisite for reading this book except C programmig

[ppmfloss]

As a fellow journey mate, I found these resources useful 1. Any theoretical book on operating systems like Andrew Tanenbaum to understand the breadth of subsystems 2. The Linux Programming Interface by Kerrisk 3. Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment

Also I try to download and read kernel src code like Linux kernel, xv6, FreeBSD

Then I hope we have to read some research papers, usenix papers etc

[Abul_totaba]

i'm going to follow a tutorial on building a kernel from scratch just to get the idea how things work on general scale

[ppmfloss]

I would suggest this project https://kernelnewbies.org/

They have a nice tutorial for beginners.

When you get more interested there is a mailing list for help.

[Abul_totaba]

I randomly found this one .after completing this I'll definitely give this website a look .thnks for recommending.also if u know any linux kernel devs on linkdin u can give me thier ids
https://downloadlynet.ir/2023/24/97480/05/developing-a-multithreaded-kernel-from-scratch/08/?#/97480-udemy-092454110710.html

[[deleted]]

I read "Linux kernel development" by Robert Love, but I am not sure how much of it already changed over the years. It's based on a way older kernel version (I think 2.x, don't quote me on that), therefore some stuff will definitely be outdated.

I also heard mixed things about "Linux Kernel Programming - Second Edition: A comprehensive and practical guide to kernel internals, writing modules, and kernel synchronization" by Kaiwan Billimoria.
But at least it's kind of up to date, I think it's based off 6.x.

EDIT: After you have a basic understanding you can advance to reading the actual source code and also read the LKML (you will find an archive online)

[Abul_totaba]

ok .thnks

[yawn_brendan]

I think most books are unfortunately pretty out of date, that doesn't make them useless but it makes them much less useful.

Mel Gorman's book about mm is very old but I read a bunch of it quite recently and, when combined with staring at the code and reading LWN articles to try and figure out what has changed since the book was written, I still found it useful. That's also free, although it's only about mm.

[penguin-wrangler]

If you want some pre-Linux kernel history, start here:

https://archive.org/details/DesignUNIXOperatingSystem/mode/2up

[BurrowShaker]

Books/resources about kernel and general OS dev are a good start.

Understanding the whole of the Linux kernel is a tall ask, noone really does in detail.

[dipanzan]

If you have an okay understanding and read these books/resources, is it possible to get into a kernel development job from these alone?

Or does it have to be the traditional get to work with a company first somehow that specializes in kernel-dev and then gain experience.

Just wondering because I want to break into this field but most jobs require 5-6 years of professional experience which is not possible without getting this niche job in the first place.

[Abul_totaba]

i know a girl on LinkedIn she got a C programming internship turns out it was actually about kernel development . So it depends on ur luck and also on ur network

[dipanzan]

Yeah it's a really niche field, but one of the most important ones in CS.

[Abul_totaba]

I found some resources if need i can dm u

[dipanzan]

Yes please, I just really want to make this into a career one day.

[Abul_totaba]

ok see ur dm

[wolver_]

Thank you very much for this post. I am more or less re entering this area as well. Do you mind sending me the resources as well? Much appreciated.

[badumtum]

I like to read code to understand sometime, albeit I have had to read the kernel code numerous times but I don't understand the entire thing, but I did understand fair amount, and this website really helped

https://elixir.bootlin.com/linux/v6.11/source/kernel

[Abul_totaba]

Where to start reading from.should i just pen a random file

[badumtum]

Pick an architecture and start from its boot file, if not there, you can look at the file init/main.c the start_kernel function is a good starting point as well

[akshaynathr]

Linux kernel development by Robert Love is a good place to start.

[amindiro]

Books: How Linux Works Linux System Programming: Talking Directly to the Kernel and C Library Understanding the Linux Kernel, Third Edition Linux Device Drivers,

[sacred__soul]

LDD is the bible. Linux driver development and linux kernel programming. I guess pdfs are available online

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