The Linux Kernel ``''

DRAFT, Version 0.1-10(30)

Abstract:

The kernel is at the heart of the Operating System. This book is a guide to how the kernel fits together, how it works; a tour of the kernel.

1996,1997

David A Rusling
david.rusling@reo.mts.dec.com

April 1997

For Gill, Esther and Stephen

• Contents
• List of Figures
• Hardware Basics
  • The CPU
  • Memory
  • Buses
  • Controllers and Peripherals
  • Address Spaces
• Software Basics
  • Computer Languages
    • Assembly Languages
    • The C Programming Language and Compiler
    • Linkers
  • What is an Operating System?
    • Memory management
    • Processes
    • Device drivers
    • The Filesystems
    • Kernel Data Structures
• Memory Management
  • An Abstract Model of Virtual Memory
    • Demand Paging
    • Swapping
    • Shared Virtual Memory
    • Access Control
    • Making the Model More Efficient
    • Physical and Virtual Addressing Modes
    • Summary
  • Linux Virtual Memory Algorithms
    • Three Level Page Tables
    • Page Allocation and Deallocation
      • Page Allocation
      • Page Deallocation
    • Swapping and Discarding Pages
      • The Kernel Swap Daemon (kswapd)
      • Swapping Pages Out
      • Reducing the Size of the Page and Buffer Caches
      • Swapping Out Shared Pages
    • Swapping Pages In (Demand Paging)
• Processes
  • Linux Processes
  • Identifiers
  • Scheduling
    • Scheduling in Multiprocessor Systems
  • Files
  • Virtual Memory
  • Creating a Process
  • Interprocess Communication Mechanisms
    • Signals
    • Pipes
    • Sockets
    • System V IPC Mechanisms
      • Message Queues
      • Semaphores
      • Shared Memory
  • Times and Timers
  • Executing Programs
    • ELF
      • ELF Shared Libraries
    • Script Files
• PCI
  • PCI Address Spaces
  • PCI Configuration Headers
  • PCI I/O and PCI Memory Addresses
  • PCI-ISA Bridges
  • PCI-PCI Bridges
    • PCI-PCI Bridges: PCI I/O and PCI Memory Windows
    • PCI-PCI Bridges: PCI Configuration Cycles and PCI Bus Numbering
  • Linux PCI Initialization
    • The Linux Kernel PCI Data Structures
    • The PCI Device Driver
      • Configuring PCI-PCI Bridges - Assigning PCI Bus Numbers
    • PCI BIOS Functions
    • PCI Fixup
      • Finding Out How Much PCI I/O and PCI Memory Space a Device Needs
      • Allocating PCI I/O and PCI Memory to PCI-PCI Bridges and Devices
• Interrupts and Interrupt Handling
  • Programmable Interrupt Controllers
  • Interrupt Handling
  • Initializing the Interrupt Handling Data Structures
• Device Drivers
  • Polling and Interrupts
  • Direct Memory Access (DMA)
  • Memory
  • Block Device Drivers
    • IDE Device Drivers
    • SCSI Device Drivers
  • Character Device Drivers
  • Network Device Drivers
• The File system
  • The Second Extended File system (EXT2)
    • The EXT2 Inode
    • The EXT2 Superblock
    • The EXT2 Group Descriptor
    • EXT2 Directories
    • Finding a File in an EXT2 File System
    • Changing the Size of a File in an EXT2 File System
  • The Virtual File System (VFS)
    • The VFS Superblock
    • The VFS Inode
    • Registering the File Systems
    • Mounting a File System
    • Finding a File in the Virtual File System
    • Creating a File in the Virtual File System
    • Unmounting a File System
    • The VFS Inode Cache
    • The Directory Cache
  • The Buffer Cache
    • The bdflush Kernel Daemon
    • The update Process
  • The /proc File System
  • Device Files
• Networks
• Kernel Mechanisms
  • Bottom Half Handling
  • Task Queues
  • Timers
  • Wait Queues
  • Semaphores
• Modules
  • Loading a Module
  • Unloading a Module
• The Linux Kernel Sources
• The Alpha AXP Processor
• Useful Web and FTP Sites
• The GNU General Public License
  • Preamble
  • Terms and Conditions for Copying, Distribution, and Modification
  • Appendix: How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs
• Glossary
• References
• About this document ...