Linux Kernel Resources

This page has references to various kernel resources (web sites and mailing lists) for developers. Most of this information was gathered over a year ago, and may not be accurate.

/\ Note: You should always look at the kernel MAINTAINERS file for up-to-date information

Vanilla Linux kernel

   - web site = http://www.kernel.org/
   - Linux Kernel Source Tarballs
   - Linus' Git Repository
   - Mercurial mirror of Linus's Git Repository

• If this doesn't have everything you need, something is wrong.
  • In the embedded world, many things are often wrong.

Mailing List (lkml)

• The Big List of Linux Kernel mailing lists, and where to find their archives
  • LKML - The Linux Kernel Mailing List (where the big boys hang out)
  • linux-embedded - Embedded Linux Kernel List
• How to subscribe to these lists

LKML summaries

• Google search of Ind. Univ. archives of LKML
• Kernel Traffic - Summaries of LKML traffic through 2005 (now discontinued).
• Kernel Podcast - Successor to Kernel Traffic, in handy weekly podcast form RSS feed
• LWN Kernel page - Linux Weekly News kernel coverage

Repository access

• Kernel Git repositories
• Vanilla Linux Git Tree - This is "upstream". Get your code into here, please.
• Note: Linus's Repository only goes back to 2.6.12-rc2, the history before that is not included in his repository.
  • But this one has all the going back to 0.0.1, and updates itself from Linus's tree when you do a "git pull". (This is really cool. You want this.)

News

• Linux Weekly News, Kernel page
• Linux Kernel Podcast - Weekly summaries (RSS feed)

Changelog

• Comprehensible changelog of the linux kernel
  • http://wiki.kernelnewbies.org/LinuxChanges

• Announcemnts from linus
  • 2.6.3 http://lwn.net/Articles/71670/
  • 2.6.10 http://lwn.net/Articles/117188/
  • 2.6.12 http://lwn.net/Articles/140441/
  • 2.6.13 http://lwn.net/Articles/149480/
  • 2.6.14 http://lwn.net/Articles/157474/
  • 2.6.15 http://lwn.net/Articles/166131/

• LWN atricles for spcific releases
  • 2.6.3 http://lwn.net/Articles/71669/
  • 2.6.10 http://lwn.net/Articles/117187/
  • 2.6.12 http://lwn.net/Articles/140165/
  • 2.6.15 http://lwn.net/Articles/166130/

• LWN aricles on 2.6 API changes
  • 2.6 API changes http://lwn.net/Articles/2.6-kernel-api/
  • 2.6.12 API changes http://lwn.net/Articles/140164/

Architecture Sites

MIPS

   - web site = http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/Main_Page
   - mailing list = http://www.linux-mips.org/wiki/Net_Resources#Mailing_lists
   - Maintainer = Ralph Baechle

   - there's an alternate site on Source Forge
       - the site is: http://sourceforge.net/projects/linux-mips
       - Note that this is used for experimental stuff that hasn't been merged
         into the official mips tree by Ralph Baechle
   

ARM

   - web site = http://www.arm.linux.org.uk/
   - cvs access = http://cvs.arm.linux.org.uk/
   - mailing list = http://www.arm.linux.org.uk/armlinux/mailinglists.php
       - wiki = http://www.linux-arm.org/
   - Maintainer = Russell King

PowerPC

   - web site = http://penguinppc.org/
   - mailing lists = http://penguinppc.org/about/community.php#lists
   - Git repository = kernel.org:/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/paulus/powerpc.git
   - Maintainer = Paul Mackerras
   - Power Macintosh Maintainer = Benjamin Herrenschmidt

   - cross-compiler mini-howto: http://penguinppc.org/embedded/cross-compiling/

   See the following for information on different linuxppc source trees available:
   http://www.penguinppc.org/dev/kernel.shtml

SuperH (SH)

   - web site = http://www.linux-sh.org/
   - Git repository = kernel.org:/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/lethal/sh-2.6.git
   - mailing list address = linux-sh@vger.kernel.org
   - mailing list page = http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html#linux-sh
   - mailing list archives = http://news.gmane.org/gmane.linux.ports.sh.devel
       - wiki = http://linux-sh.org/shwiki/FrontPage
   - Maintainer = Paul Mundt

Documentation

Online

- Rusty Russell's "Unreliable Guide to Locking" - http://kernelbook.sourceforge.net/kernel-locking.html
- Embedded Linux kernel and driver development - http://free-electrons.com/training/drivers
- Linux USB drivers - http://free-electrons.com/articles/linux-usb

Books

• Linux Kernel Development by Robert Love
  • Good introduction to Linux kernel development
• Linux Device Drivers by Jonathan Corbet, Alessandro Rubini, and Greg Kroah-Hartman
  • Great book for getting started with Linux device drivers
  • Free online pdf edition: http://lwn.net/images/pdf/LDD3/
  • online html http://www.makelinux.net/ldd3/
• Essential Linux Device Drivers by Sreekrishnan Venkateswaran
  • Introduction to driver development for major subsystems
• Professional Linux Kernel Architecture by Wolfgang Mauerer
  • Introduction to the architecture, concepts and algorithms of the Linux kernel
• Understanding the Linux Kernel by Daniel Bovet and Marco Cesati
  • Guided tour of the code that forms the core of all Linux operating systems
• Linux Kernel in a Nutshell by Greg Kroah-Hartman
  • Overview of kernel configuration and building
  • Free online edition: http://www.kroah.com/lkn/

Cross-reference / code online

• http://www.makelinux.net/kernel_map
• http://www.linux-m32r.org/lxr/http/source/
• http://lxr.free-electrons.com/
• http://sosdg.org/~coywolf/lxr/source/
• http://lxr.linux.no/source/