Getting started on Linux Kernel Development
Greetings. My name is Daniel and I am starting out in Linux Kernel development on a Debian Linux distribution. I followed the steps on kernelnewbies.org and I am booting now with 3.10.0-rc3+. So I build the compiler and I am also booting from it. I watched the video from Greg Kroah-Hartman on how to submit patches, I created a branch, so I am ready to go... How do I get started with the Kernel janitors to get my feet wet? I have intermediate knowledge of C and basic knowledge of Assembly. Is there anything in particular that I can get started on? Thanks. Cheers, Daniel
Yeah, now you have to find a problem which people are trying to solve... Keep searching a mailing lists. and that's the only way you will be able to figure out what you can fix or improve. On 5/31/13, Daniel Hamacher <danielhamacher.dh@gmail.com> wrote:
Greetings.
My name is Daniel and I am starting out in Linux Kernel development on a Debian Linux distribution. I followed the steps on kernelnewbies.org and I am booting now with 3.10.0-rc3+. So I build the compiler and I am also booting from it. I watched the video from Greg Kroah-Hartman on how to submit patches, I created a branch, so I am ready to go...
How do I get started with the Kernel janitors to get my feet wet? I have intermediate knowledge of C and basic knowledge of Assembly. Is there anything in particular that I can get started on? Thanks.
Cheers, Daniel
_______________________________________________ Kernelnewbies mailing list Kernelnewbies@kernelnewbies.org http://lists.kernelnewbies.org/mailman/listinfo/kernelnewbies
-- Regards, Denis
On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 11:05:13PM +0400, Denis Kirjanov wrote:
Yeah, now you have to find a problem which people are trying to solve... Keep searching a mailing lists. and that's the only way you will be able to figure out what you can fix or improve.
Also, testing patches posted to the mailing lists is usually appreciated. -- Jonathan Neuschäfer
Daniel Hamacher <danielhamacher.dh@gmail.com> writes:
My name is Daniel and I am starting out in Linux Kernel development on a Debian Linux distribution. I followed the steps on kernelnewbies.org and I am booting now with 3.10.0-rc3+. So I build the compiler and I am also booting from it. I watched the video from Greg Kroah-Hartman on how to submit patches, I created a branch, so I am ready to go...
How do I get started with the Kernel janitors to get my feet wet? I have intermediate knowledge of C and basic knowledge of Assembly. Is there anything in particular that I can get started on? Thanks.
Did everything work as you expected with v3.10-rc3? Is all your hardware fully supported? If you can answer yes to both those questions, then try enabling more kernel features and/or hardware until something breaks. Then fix it :) Look through your kernel logs for errors and warnings, look them up in the source, and try to figure out how the code works and the meaning of the error/warning. Not all of them will be real errors. But some may be. And some of them are problably just debug messages using the wrong level. Which is also something you could consider fixing.. I believe most kernel developers started by fixed a problem they were having themselves. This is a lot easier than trying to fix someone elses problem. As others already pointed out: Early testing is also always appreciated. If there is an active development list for any driver you are using, or other kernel parts where you are in an extra good position to test, then consider joining that list and test out new proposed features as early as possible. Linux developers rarely have access to all the different hardware they are trying to support, and your testing, whether it is a success or failure, can be extremely valuable. It is also likely that you find something you can fix here as you learn to know the code you are trying out. And please forget about all the advice starting with some dull janitor work. Unless you enjoy cleaning. Then please go ahead. Coding is supposed to be fun, you know :) Bjørn
On Sun, 02 Jun 2013 12:43:33 +0200, Bjørn Mork said:
Did everything work as you expected with v3.10-rc3? Is all your hardware fully supported? If you can answer yes to both those questions, then try enabling more kernel features and/or hardware until something breaks. Then fix it :)
As Bjørn further notes:
As others already pointed out: Early testing is also always appreciated.
And even if you're unable to fix it, a good bug report against a pre-release kernel is worth its weight in gold. (Good == one that has error messages, info like "I used this kernel", and "it only happens when I have CONFIG_FROBOZZ defined", and directed to the appropriate maintainers). Bonus points if you can do a 'git bisect' down to a specific commit and cc: the author of that commit.
participants (5)
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Bjørn Mork -
Daniel Hamacher -
Denis Kirjanov -
Jonathan Neuschäfer -
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