Linux Kernel Programming: A Comprehensive Guide to Kernel Internals, Writing Kernel Modules, and Kernel Synchronization

Price: $29.99
(as of May 21,2023 19:10:07 UTC – Details)

The book “Linux Kernel Programming” is aimed at individuals seeking to explore and delve into the various concepts and techniques involved in Linux kernel development. The book offers a broad range of topics from the fundamental concepts of Linux kernel internals to synchronization, memory allocation, CPU scheduling, and kernel architecture. With this comprehensive guide, you can improve your knowledge in writing kernel code, processing threads and memory management, and addressing concurrency in the kernel.

Key Features

• Learn to write kernel code using the Loadable Kernel Module framework
• Discover industry-grade techniques to perform efficient memory allocation and data synchronization within the kernel
• Understand key internals topics such as kernel architecture, memory management, CPU scheduling, and kernel synchronization

Book Description

The book is designed as an easy-to-follow guide to get readers up and running with writing kernel code in no time. The book uses the latest 5.4 Long-Term Support (LTS) Linux kernel, which will be maintained from November 2019 until December 2025. The book will guide you through building the kernel from the source and writing your first kernel module. Additionally, the book covers key kernel internals topics such as Linux kernel architecture, memory management, CPU scheduling, and concurrency.

Among other things, the book covers fairly complex topics such as concurrency within the kernel. You’ll understand the issues it can cause and learn how to address it with various locking technologies. The book also covers advanced material on cache effects, lock-free techniques, deadlock avoidance with lockdep, and kernel lock debugging techniques. By the end of the book, you’ll have a complete understanding of how to write Linux kernel module code for real-world projects and products.

What you will learn

• Write high-quality modular kernel code (LKM framework) for 5.x kernels
• Configure and build a kernel from source
• Explore the Linux kernel architecture
• Get to grips with key internals regarding memory management within the kernel
• Understand and work with various dynamic kernel memory allocation/deallocation APIs
• Discover key internal aspects regarding CPU scheduling within the kernel
• Gain an understanding of kernel concurrency issues
• Find out how to work with key kernel synchronization primitives

Who this book is for

The book is intended for Linux programmers who want to start their journey in Linux kernel development. If you wish to overcome frequent and common kernel development problems or understand kernel intervals, this book is for you. You should have a solid foundation of Linux CLI and C programming before diving into the book.

Table of Contents

• Kernel Workspace Setup
• Building the 5.0 Linux kernel from Source, Part 1
• Building the 5.0 Linux kernel from Source, Part 2
• Writing your First Kernel Module, Part 1
• Writing your First Kernel Module – Part 2
• Kernel Internals Essentials – Processes and Threads
• Memory Management Internals – Essentials
• Kernel Memory Allocation for Module Authors, Part 1
• Kernel Memory Allocation for Module Authors – Part 2
• The CPU Scheduler – Part 1
• The CPU Scheduler – Part 2
• Kernel Synchronization – Part 1
• Kernel Synchronization – Part 2

Publisher: Packt Publishing (March 19, 2021)
Language: English
Paperback: 754 pages
ISBN-10: 178995343X
ISBN-13: 978-1789953435
Item Weight: 2.8 pounds
Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.7 x 9.25 inches