So Here We Are

The kernel is indeed a unique and inimitable beast: No memory protection, no tried-and-true libc, a small stack, a huge source tree. The Linux kernel plays by its own rules, running with the big boys and stopping just long enough to break the customs with which we are familiar. Despite this, however, the kernel is just a program. It is not very different from the usual, the accustomed, the status quo. Do not be afraid: Stand up to it, call it names, push it around.

Realizing that the kernel is not as daunting as first appearances might suggest is the first step on the road to having everything just make sense. To reach that utopia, however, you have to jump in, read the source, hack the source, and not be disheartened.

The introduction in the previous chapter and the basics in this chapter willI hopelay the foundation for the monument of knowledge we will construct throughout the rest of this book. In the following chapters, we will look at specific concepts of and subsystems in the kernel.