RE: kernel programming

["Nellis, Nick" <Nick.Nellis@uk.thalesgroup.com>]

Well, i dont need to learn c. i am however, about to embark down the course
of learning some asm. did a little bit of asm when i was younger so i am
_very_ rusty.

taking the tips i got from others and reading up 4.4bsd implementation and
browsing through the source code.

thanks all

nick

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Hessler [mailto:yodadoa@yahoo.com]
Sent: 01 November 2001 04:11
To: Nathan Binkert; Nellis, Nick
Cc: 'misc@openbsd.org'
Subject: Re: kernel programming


Alright, how about this one.  Do you need to know the language first,
or is the kernel a good place to learn C?  (If so, which modules and
such?)

If you need to know the language first, are there any good methods to
learn C?


--- Nathan Binkert <binkertn@umich.edu> wrote:
> The biggest mistake people make when they want to start kernel
> hacking is
> that they think they have to know all sorts of stuff about the kernel
> when
> they start.  I made this mistake, and I'm sure that others have as
> well.
> 
> The best, and I think only way to start learning about the kernel, is
> to
> just jump in and start.  If you can't figure out how something is
> supposed
> to work, use grep to look through the kernel source to find something
> similar to what you want to do.
> 
> So, download the source, learn how to build a kernel, and just go for
> it.
> I can guarantee that no matter how much reading you do on the
> subject,
> you'll still make plenty of mistakes when you start.  Just keep
> plugging
> away.  You'll never really learn how to do it until you actually
> start
> trying.
> 
> Example from my perspective.  I wanted to port a gigabit ethernet
> driver.
> The first one took me a month.  This last one I did in about 3 hours.
>  You
> just kinda get the hang of things.
> 
>   Nathan
> 
> > i was just wondering if anyone had good pointers about starting to
> do
> > kernel/device driver programming for openbsd. i would like to
> contribute to
> > the project the best i can but havent done any any kernel level
> programming
> > before. i do understand operating system concepts and the like
> though.
> >
> > so, is there any pointers/references that i could get myself
> started on to
> > get to grips with the openbsd source code? i know i wont become a
> super
> > kernel programmer overnight, but a nudge in the right direction
> would be
> > great.
> >
> > cheers
> >
> > nick
> 


=====
Peter Hessler
<yodadoa@yahoo.com>
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