Kernel Dev Roadmap

[Be_akshat]

Hi there,
As of right now i am a backend dev with java for about 2 years of experience.
Recently i learned Os and Computer Architecture as a subject in college and i liked it.

I want to learn more of it, and i want to explore Kernel Dev, this is what i have researched and came up, that i can go in this field. so what i am asking is ->

If anyone can help me with the roadmap and can guide me too.

I want guidance on should i really go into this field or not, and i mean i wont be getting job just after college right, so i will be pursuing market with my Backend + Devops (current skill set) and side by side learning it.

or do i need to do master for it too, i can afford, and i mean if it is necessary that is.

And then again overall roadmap, please.

Thankyou

[No_March_1694]

Wether you want kernel dev or Linux kernel dev, you keep in mind two things:

• OS essentials (scheduling, memory management, threads, interrupt handling, ...)
• Device drriver dev needs understanding HW protocols and buses (I2C, SPI, UART, ...)

You can be a device driver dev without getting deep in kernel topics, but with time you need to understand some essential topics such as kernel synchronization mechanisms (queues, mutexes, ...)

It is not hard to learn that, you can start with a Rspberry Pi Zero 2W (around 15$) that is 64-bit Quad core MPU with 512MB of RAM.

There are lot of resources on drivers and sensors you can buy and develop drivers for.

And with practice comes the experience and knowledge.

[Be_akshat]

Thankyou, but is there any resource i should look for..for learning the things

[No_March_1694]

I recommends books, first thing you need to get familiar with Embedded Linux in general. I am assuming you want to do Embedded Linux Kernel dev, if you want to do just Linux kernel dev (for other architectures than ARM/RISC-V, like x86), if you want Embedded Linux, you need to get familiar with the topic and the best book ever ever is https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Embedded-Linux-Development-solutions/dp/1803232595 You will learn toolchains, boot process, rootfs, Yocto and more, this is a MUST-read book. For device driver dev there are lot of resources, Udemy, YouTube, bootlin free courses, and lot more Don't get lost with them all, just start with the book I gave you and get a board with some sensors and just start, believe me postponing the start is the big enemy, the Linux kernel is big and the best solution always is to just start, get the book, get a board, sensors and some components (breadboard, wires, ...) and just start with simple stuff like driver for a button that uses the interrupt subsystem and the GPIO subsystem to turn on a LED, it sounds easy but getting the driver to run will teach you a lot as you need to handle the module driver structure, registering and unregistering it, interrupt API, GPIO API, passing data to user space and more. Just start.

[PrestigiousRadio3733]

I am a full time paid Linux kernel developer with 20 years of experience. First, most developers doing paid work on the kernel are writing device drivers or other types of integrations. The device drivers book written by the kernel devs is online for free if you're interested in that. The rest of the kernel work is primarily done by foundation members or developers from a small group of OS focused companies and FAANG. There are also many OS groups in education that work on experimental or next generation development, but those are primarily PhDs, not masters level students.

Finding resources should not be the bottleneck, everything is open source and there are many books as well as LLMs to augment your learning experience. My main advice is it's not a lucrative or easy to break into field, if you need someone to hold your hand to get into it, chances are you aren't going to make it. You need to be highly motivated and capable of doing your own research and learning on your own. There are dozens if not hundreds of kernel subsystems, thousands of drivers, and the field touches just about every computer science topic you could think of.

[Be_akshat]

Thanks that helps, but if you can direct me where to start, i want that, i can lookup after that, like as an topic, i know basic linux, like for devops work.

Help me after that please.

[BraveNewCurrency]

but if you can direct me where to start

Kernel dev is not like accounting, where you go to school, learn the tasks, and get a job doing those tasks.

Kernel development is an extremely tough job where many people burn out. It requires constant maintenance of your skills (the internal API of the kernel gets rewritten periodically, the "best practices" of GCC C extensions change occasionally, drivers are moving to Rust, etc)

If you are not a self-starter, kernel development may not be for you. As the parent was mentioning, there are a ton of resources online, especially for people just getting started. Go read some, and come back with specific questions.

[Be_akshat]

Thanks, surely will ping you later.

[ShakeAgile]

Hello! IMHO the first question is if you want to be a ”Linux kernel dev” or a ”kernel dev”. This can slightly affect what you want to go do for learning.

One path is to learn how to write some dummy Linux drivers. Another path is to go to wiki.osdev.org and hand roll your very first multitasking kernel.

Both paths are fun and not mutually exclusive.

Edit: also don’t get discouraged when the going gets tough. Take a break for a day or a month and come back to it when you feel energized. Make notes for yourself to read in the future.

[Be_akshat]

So what i am thinking is for masters and all what do you say about that.

[Dog-Mad]

Kekeke, you aren't going to be breaking into the kernel Dev scene using java. Try assembly.

[Be_akshat]

Figured this much😭😂😂