Welcome to The Linux Kernel’s documentation¶
This is the top level of the kernel’s documentation tree. Kernel documentation, like the kernel itself, is very much a work in progress; that is especially true as we work to integrate our many scattered documents into a coherent whole. Please note that improvements to the documentation are welcome; join the linux-doc list at vger.kernel.org if you want to help out.
User-oriented documentation¶
The following manuals are written for users of the kernel — those who are trying to get it to work optimally on a given system.
- The Linux kernel user’s and administrator’s guide
- Linux kernel release 4.x <http://kernel.org/>
- The kernel’s command-line parameters
- Linux allocated devices (4.x+ version)
- Reporting bugs
- Security bugs
- Bug hunting
- Bisecting a bug
- Tainted kernels
- Ramoops oops/panic logger
- Dynamic debug
- Explaining the dreaded “No init found.” boot hang message
- Rules on how to access information in sysfs
- Using the initial RAM disk (initrd)
- Linux Serial Console
- Linux Braille Console
- Parport
- RAID arrays
- Kernel module signing facility
- Linux Magic System Request Key Hacks
- Unicode support
- Software cursor for VGA
- Kernel Support for miscellaneous (your favourite) Binary Formats v1.1
- Mono(tm) Binary Kernel Support for Linux
- Java(tm) Binary Kernel Support for Linux v1.03
- Reliability, Availability and Serviceability
Introduction to kernel development¶
These manuals contain overall information about how to develop the kernel. The kernel community is quite large, with thousands of developers contributing over the course of a year. As with any large community, knowing how things are done will make the process of getting your changes merged much easier.
- Working with the kernel development community
- HOWTO do Linux kernel development
- Code of Conflict
- A guide to the Kernel Development Process
- Submitting patches: the essential guide to getting your code into the kernel
- Linux kernel coding style
- Email clients info for Linux
- Minimal requirements to compile the Kernel
- Submitting Drivers For The Linux Kernel
- The Linux Kernel Driver Interface
- Linux kernel management style
- Everything you ever wanted to know about Linux -stable releases
- Linux Kernel patch submission checklist
- Index of Documentation for People Interested in Writing and/or Understanding the Linux Kernel
- Applying Patches To The Linux Kernel
- Adding a New System Call
- Linux magic numbers
- Why the “volatile” type class should not be used
- Development tools for the kernel
- How to write kernel documentation
Kernel API documentation¶
These books get into the details of how specific kernel subsystems work from the point of view of a kernel developer. Much of the information here is taken directly from the kernel source, with supplemental material added as needed (or at least as we managed to add it — probably not all that is needed).
- The Linux driver implementer’s API guide
- Driver Basics
- Device drivers infrastructure
- Device Power Management
- Bus-Independent Device Accesses
- Buffer Sharing and Synchronization
- Device links
- Message-based devices
- Sound Devices
- Frame Buffer Library
- Voltage and current regulator API
- Industrial I/O
- Input Subsystem
- The Linux-USB Host Side API
- Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)
- I2C and SMBus Subsystem
- High Speed Synchronous Serial Interface (HSI)
- Error Detection And Correction (EDAC) Devices
- Parallel Port Devices
- 16x50 UART Driver
- Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM)
- VME Device Drivers
- Linux 802.11 Driver Developer’s Guide
- The Userspace I/O HOWTO
- Linux Firmware API
- Core API Documentation
- Linux Media Subsystem Documentation
- Linux GPU Driver Developer’s Guide
- Security documentation
- Linux Sound Subsystem Documentation
- Linux Kernel Crypto API