Kernel Development from Scratch

John Tsiombikas nuclear@mutantstargoat.com

3 February 2011

I've started a series of articles for the new Greek magazine: Linux Inside. The articles aim to introduce the reader to kernel development, by starting from scratch and building up a small working kernel.

The first issue of Linux Inside, which should be available by now, includes the first part of the series which covers setting up the development tools for compiling and running the kernel both on the real machine and in a simulator, bootstrapping with multiboot boot loaders, and text output by driving the VGA in text mode.

For obvious reasons the full source code supplementing each article could not fit in the pages of the magazine, only the most relevant snippets are included. So make sure to follow the URL at the start of the article to download the full source code and have it handy while you read. The source code for the first article can be found here.

So go grab a copy of the Linux Inside magazine and let me know what you think. Each article will also contain exercises for the readers, so have a go at them and send me your code! I'll try to include it in the next issue.

Oh and of course each article will be released under a free license (I'm thinking either GNU FDL or CC BY-SA) when each issue goes out of circulation.

edit: Just made a website for the series.


This was initially posted in my old wordpress blog. Visit the original version to see any comments.


Discuss this post

Back to my blog