Introduction to Linux Kernel Development

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to Linux kernel design and architecture, aimed at equipping you with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. I will begin by covering essential operating system concepts and terminologies, ensuring that you have a strong foundation. From there, you’ll dive into the intricate workings of the Linux kernel, learning how to build it from source code and create a fully functional, custom bootable Linux system. This includes setting up a BusyBox user-space environment to complete the operating system, giving you a hands-on understanding of the system’s internals.

In addition to kernel building, this course will teach you how to develop your own Linux kernel modules, with a deep dive into loadable kernel modules (LKMs). You’ll explore how to extend the kernel’s functionality dynamically, enabling you to create, load, and debug modules efficiently. The course also delves into key features like kthreads, interfacing with the procfs (/proc) filesystem, allowing you to expose any module / kernel related statisitics to user-space, and also interfacing with debugfs (/sys/kernel/debug), allowing you to expose variables from within kernel-space to user-space for diagnostics and debugging.

Furthermore, you’ll gain experience in contributing to the Linux kernel by learning how to create patches and apply them following the official Linux kernel development workflow. Upon completing this course, you will be proficient in exploring, managing, and modifying the Linux kernel source code, ready to embark on a path toward becoming a skilled Linux kernel developer.