Linux Kernel Development
For nearly a decade, I have had a latent interest in developing the Linux kernel. I administered Linux servers for years, but I never had as much motivation as I have now to explore the kernel’s mechanisms. I remember leafing through books, at Borders, that made kernel development seem inaccessible. Robert Love’s book, Linux Kernel Development (third edition), stands out as an invitation to exploring and improving the open source operating system. Love’s book is a great introduction to Linux and its subsystems, and it has encouraged me to study the operating system’s implementation.
Love’s writing style makes the topic of Linux kernel development accessible to intermediate software developers. His style is clear, concise, and effective. It differs from the style used in voluminous books, which materialize publishers’ apparent hope to attract shoppers by taking up more shelf space at bookstores. The style of his writing allows Love to convey information in less words thereby saving the reader’s time. Love’s style focuses the reader’s attention on the Linux operating system, and his style allows the reader to pick up knowledge quickly.
Linux Kernel Development introduces process management, interrupt handling, memory management, and i/o handling as implemented in recent versions of Linux. To support examination of these primary operating system functions, the book also reviews data structures and thread synchronization mechanisms that are used by the kernel. The book delegates to others focused on algorithms the task of deeply examining data structures, but it provides thorough coverage of synchronization mechanisms used by Linux and highlights the strengths and limitations of each mechanism. The book maintains its focus on Linux by expanding study of topics that are specific to Linux and avoiding distractions of general topics such as data structure implementation.
Its organization, structure, and style makes Robert Love’s book a potent introduction to linux kernel development.