Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Kendrick Hamilton]

Please CC response to hamilton@sedsystems.ca

Does anybody know if there will be a third edition of Linux Device 
Drivers covering the 2.6 Kernel, or are the differences for a character 
device small enough that it is not needed?

TIA,
Kendrick Hamilton

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Xavier Bestel]

Le jeu 18/12/2003 à 19:42, Kendrick Hamilton a écrit :
> Please CC response to hamilton@sedsystems.ca
> 
> Does anybody know if there will be a third edition of Linux Device 
> Drivers covering the 2.6 Kernel, or are the differences for a character 
> device small enough that it is not needed?

I dunno for the book, but the author wrote the guide "Porting device
drivers to the 2.6 kernel" http://lwn.net/Articles/driver-porting/ --
excellent, as always.

	Xav

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Xavier Bestel]

Le jeu 18/12/2003 à 20:23, Xavier Bestel a écrit :
> Le jeu 18/12/2003 à 19:42, Kendrick Hamilton a écrit :
> > Please CC response to hamilton@sedsystems.ca
> > 
> > Does anybody know if there will be a third edition of Linux Device 
> > Drivers covering the 2.6 Kernel, or are the differences for a character 
> > device small enough that it is not needed?
> 
> I dunno for the book, but the author wrote the guide "Porting device
> drivers to the 2.6 kernel" http://lwn.net/Articles/driver-porting/ --
> excellent, as always.

Err .. sorry Alessandro, of course Mr Corbet isn't the author of LDD ...

	Xav

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Jens Axboe]

On Thu, Dec 18 2003, Xavier Bestel wrote:
> Le jeu 18/12/2003 à 20:23, Xavier Bestel a écrit :
> > Le jeu 18/12/2003 à 19:42, Kendrick Hamilton a écrit :
> > > Please CC response to hamilton@sedsystems.ca
> > > 
> > > Does anybody know if there will be a third edition of Linux Device 
> > > Drivers covering the 2.6 Kernel, or are the differences for a character 
> > > device small enough that it is not needed?
> > 
> > I dunno for the book, but the author wrote the guide "Porting device
> > drivers to the 2.6 kernel" http://lwn.net/Articles/driver-porting/ --
> > excellent, as always.
> 
> Err .. sorry Alessandro, of course Mr Corbet isn't the author of LDD ...

He did write a great deal of the second edition, so I don't think your
comment is far off.

-- 
Jens Axboe

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Jonathan Corbet]

> Does anybody know if there will be a third edition of Linux Device 
> Drivers covering the 2.6 Kernel, or are the differences for a character 
> device small enough that it is not needed?

There will, but don't hold your breath - it's proceeding more slowly than
we would like.

Meanwhile, see http://lwn.net/Articles/driver-porting/ for the info you
need.

jon

Jonathan Corbet
Executive editor, LWN.net
corbet@lwn.net

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Andre Hedrick]

Jonathan,

So this is the third release to publish the documented API to the writing
kernel level device drivers?

Cheers,

Andre Hedrick
LAD Storage Consulting Group

PS say hi to Hale!

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003, Jonathan Corbet wrote:

> > Does anybody know if there will be a third edition of Linux Device 
> > Drivers covering the 2.6 Kernel, or are the differences for a character 
> > device small enough that it is not needed?
> 
> There will, but don't hold your breath - it's proceeding more slowly than
> we would like.
> 
> Meanwhile, see http://lwn.net/Articles/driver-porting/ for the info you
> need.
> 
> jon
> 
> Jonathan Corbet
> Executive editor, LWN.net
> corbet@lwn.net
> -
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
> Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/
> 

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Xavier Bestel]

Le ven 19/12/2003 à 08:51, Andre Hedrick a écrit :
> Jonathan,
> 
> So this is the third release to publish the documented API to the writing
> kernel level device drivers?

It's the second proof that the way to write kernel level device drivers
is a moving target.

	Xav

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[William Lee Irwin III]

Le ven 19/12/2003 ? 08:51, Andre Hedrick a ?crit :
>> Jonathan,
>> So this is the third release to publish the documented API to the writing
>> kernel level device drivers?

On Fri, Dec 19, 2003 at 12:07:58PM +0100, Xavier Bestel wrote:
> It's the second proof that the way to write kernel level device drivers
> is a moving target.
> 	Xav

Better to move than to stagnate. =)


-- wli

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Andre Hedrick]

Well to be a little more prickly ...

There are two other revisions I know of, Kernel Internals from the mid
90's and then the rare KHG by MKJ ?  The last KHG I recall was v0.[4,5,6] 
for a.out and the transition to elf.

Cheers,

Andre Hedrick
LAD Storage Consulting Group

Point, the API is being documented, sometimes not as timely as desired.


On Fri, 19 Dec 2003, Xavier Bestel wrote:

> Le ven 19/12/2003 à 08:51, Andre Hedrick a écrit :
> > Jonathan,
> > 
> > So this is the third release to publish the documented API to the writing
> > kernel level device drivers?
> 
> It's the second proof that the way to write kernel level device drivers
> is a moving target.
> 
> 	Xav
> 
> -
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
> Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/
> 

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Nick Piggin]

Andre Hedrick wrote:

>Well to be a little more prickly ...
>
>There are two other revisions I know of, Kernel Internals from the mid
>90's and then the rare KHG by MKJ ?  The last KHG I recall was v0.[4,5,6] 
>for a.out and the transition to elf.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Andre Hedrick
>LAD Storage Consulting Group
>
>Point, the API is being documented, sometimes not as timely as desired.
>

Hi Andre
Out of interest, does this have a legal (or other) significance?

PS I don't want to start anything, just interested due to my (small)
contributions to the code. Thanks.

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Jonathan Corbet]

> So this is the third release to publish the documented API to the writing
> kernel level device drivers?

I guess I see it as more of a map of the jungle as I (and my co-authors)
see it.  A guide to New York does not automatically open all of the doors
of the city to you; should a guide to certain parts of the kernel be
different?  

There was an informative article in Phrack a while back on how to install
code into a running kernel via /dev/kmem.  I guess that must be a
documented API too, now.

jon

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Andre Hedrick]

Jon,

A map is a published reference how to move around.  So yes it does give a
right to use knowledge from the information expressed.  If there was not a
reference a manual to kernel programming, then the source is the sole
manual.  Now given the volital nature of the moving API, regardless of
reason, any judge would likely veiw that active movement as an attempt to
thwart the successful production of a "3rd Party" manual.

This does not even include all the published referneces of changes deemed
as publish manuals in all the mailing list archieves.

On a side note, why doesn't LWN bother to investigate cases of known and
provable GPL violations.

I wish you well on the sales of the book, and I will by a copy this time
to catch up on what I have forgotten.

Cheers,

Andre Hedrick
LAD Storage Consulting Group

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003, Jonathan Corbet wrote:

> > So this is the third release to publish the documented API to the writing
> > kernel level device drivers?
> 
> I guess I see it as more of a map of the jungle as I (and my co-authors)
> see it.  A guide to New York does not automatically open all of the doors
> of the city to you; should a guide to certain parts of the kernel be
> different?  
> 
> There was an informative article in Phrack a while back on how to install
> code into a running kernel via /dev/kmem.  I guess that must be a
> documented API too, now.
> 
> jon
> 

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Jamie Lokier]

Andre Hedrick wrote:
> So this is the third release to publish the documented API to the writing
> kernel level device drivers?

I guess not: it's a guide (a good one), but not an exact reference,
due to the fact that the API changes from version to version, and that
the kernel API is not required to match the documentation.

-- Jamie

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Andre Hedrick]

Gee Jamie:

Maybe if you would or could read past comments in the thread, you'd catch
a clue, but let me quote myself from a few days back.

"Point, the API is being documented, sometimes not as timely as desired."

Clearly this acknowledges the API is a snapshot in time which is
published.  My past experience (now discounted by all) has observed, Linus
does not change, tries very hard to avoid changing, the kernel API during
a kernel series minor revsion number.

I think I will use one of my favorite viro quotes that I gotten many times
over the years.

"Sod Off!"

Cheers,

Andre Hedrick
LAD Storage Consulting Group

On Sun, 21 Dec 2003, Jamie Lokier wrote:

> Andre Hedrick wrote:
> > So this is the third release to publish the documented API to the writing
> > kernel level device drivers?
> 
> I guess not: it's a guide (a good one), but not an exact reference,
> due to the fact that the API changes from version to version, and that
> the kernel API is not required to match the documentation.
> 
> -- Jamie
> 

Re: Linux Device Drivers 3rd Edition

[Jose Luis Domingo Lopez]

On Thursday, 18 December 2003, at 12:42:30 -0600,
Kendrick Hamilton wrote:

> Does anybody know if there will be a third edition of Linux Device 
> Drivers covering the 2.6 Kernel, or are the differences for a character 
> device small enough that it is not needed?
> 
I don't know, but the second version plus the superb series of articles
from the people at http://lwn.net should be enough.
http://lwn.net/Articles/driver-porting/

Greetings.

-- 
Jose Luis Domingo Lopez
Linux Registered User #189436     Debian Linux Sid (Linux 2.6.0)