Before We Begin

This book is about the Linux kernel: how it works, why it works, and why you should care. It covers the design and implementation of the core kernel subsystems as well as the interfaces and programming semantics. The book is practical, and takes a middle road between theory and practice when explaining how all this stuff works. This approachcoupled with some personal anecdotes and tips on kernel hackingshould ensure that this book gets you off the ground running.

I hope you have access to a Linux system and have the kernel source. Ideally, by this point, you are a Linux user and have been poking and prodding at the source, but require some help making it all come together. Conversely, you might never have used Linux but just want to learn the design of the kernel out of curiosity. However, if your desire is to write some code of your own, there is no substitute for the source. The source code is freely available; use it!

Oh, and above all else, have fun!