Where can I find the documentation for the Linux kernel?

Where can I find the documentation for the Linux kernel?

Kernel documentation, like the kernel itself, is very much a work in progress; that is especially true as we work to integrate our many scattered documents into a coherent whole. Please note that improvements to the documentation are welcome; join the linux-doc list at vger.kernel.org if you want to help out.

Which is the top level of the kernel documentation tree?

This is the top level of the kernel’s documentation tree. Kernel documentation, like the kernel itself, is very much a work in progress; that is especially true as we work to integrate our many scattered documents into a coherent whole.

What are the standards for the Linux kernel?

Standards documents applicable to the Linux kernel Single Unix Specification v4(Also known as Open Group Base Specifications issue 7, and POSIX 2008. See especially system interfaces) C99 standard (current version of the C programming language): ISO/IEC C9899 PDF, html, or searchable website.

Which is the best book for Linux kernel development?

Emulators links to emulators that are useful for kernel development /HighAvailability High Availability talk by Marcelo Tosatti A number of good dead tree books are available, covering Linux 2.4 and Linux 2.6, as well as particular kernel subsystems.

How is a file system mounted in a Linux kernel?

A Linux kernel instance will use VFS for the hierarchy (a tree) of directories and files. A new file system will be added as a VFS subtree using the mount operation. A file system is usually mounted from the environment for which it was built (from a block type device, from network, etc.).

How is the pathname lookup in the Linux kernel?

Many of the possible races are seen most clearly in the context of the “dcache” and an understanding of that is central to understanding pathname lookup. The “dcache” caches information about names in each filesystem to make them quickly available for lookup.

What is the device field in Linux kernel?

The devices field is a list of all the devices that have been bound to the driver. The LDM core provides a helper function to operate on all the devices a driver controls. This helper locks the driver on each node access, and does proper reference counting on each device as it accesses it.

Why are namespaces important in the Linux kernel?

User namespaces are a feature to provide both privilege isolation and user identification segregation across multiple sets of processes available since kernel 3.8. With administrative assistance it is possible to build a container with seeming administrative rights without actually giving elevated privileges to user processes.

When did the Linux namespaces first come out?

The Linux Namespaces originated in 2002 in the 2.4.19 kernel with work on the mount namespace kind. Additional namespaces were added beginning in 2006 and continuing into the future. Adequate containers support functionality was finished in kernel version 3.8 with the introduction of User namespaces .