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Hacking the Linux 2.6 kernel, Part 2: Making your first hack

Kernel source, system calls, and kernel modules and patches

Lina Mårtensson (linam@tyst.nu), Freelance writer
Lina Mårtensson
Lina Mårtensson is pursuing a M.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. Contact Lina at linam@tyst.nu.
Valerie Henson (val@nmt.edu), Software Engineer, IBM
Valerie Henson
Val Henson works for the Linux Technology Center at IBM. She has more than five years experience working on the Linux and Solaris operating systems, including a year as a maintainer of part of the PowerPC Linux kernel tree. Contact Val at val@nmt.edu.

Summary:  In this second of a two-part series, discover the organization of the Linux™ kernel source, build an understanding of system calls, and craft your own kernel modules and patches.

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Date:  02 Aug 2005
Level:  Introductory
PDF:  A4 and Letter (79 KB | 26 pages)Get Adobe® Reader®

Activity:  14395 views
Comments:  

Before you start

Learn what these tutorials can teach you, and what you need to run the examples in them.

About this series

The capability of being modified is perhaps one of Linux's greatest strengths, and anyone who has dabbled with the source code has at least stood at the gates of the kingdom, if not opened them up and walked inside.

These two tutorials are intended to get you started. They are for anyone who knows a little bit of programming and who wants to contribute to the development of Linux, who feels that something is missing in the kernel and wants to fix that, or who just wants to find out how a real operating system works.

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About this tutorial

This tutorial is a sequel to "Hacking the Linux 2.6 kernel, Part 1: Getting ready." Please read Part 1 before diving into Part 2.

We start where Part 1 left off by providing an overview of the kernel source. In this tutorial, we review where the various parts of the kernel are located in the source tree, what order they execute in, and how to go looking for a particular piece of code. We then explain system calls, teach you how to make your own modules, and finally instruct you on how to create, apply, and submit patches.

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Prerequisites

To run the examples in this tutorial, you need a Linux box, root access on this Linux box (or a sympathetic admin), the ability to reboot this box several times a day, an installed compilation environment, and a way to get the kernel source.

The system prerequisites are covered in detail in Part 1 under "Requirement details." If you're not up on these details, you'll probably want to brush up before going on to the next section of this tutorial.

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TutorialTitle=Hacking the Linux 2.6 kernel, Part 2: Making your first hack
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