From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S261717AbVGSVwe (ORCPT ); Tue, 19 Jul 2005 17:52:34 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S261721AbVGSVwe (ORCPT ); Tue, 19 Jul 2005 17:52:34 -0400 Received: from mxout.hispeed.ch ([62.2.95.247]:34230 "EHLO smtp.hispeed.ch") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S261717AbVGSVw3 (ORCPT ); Tue, 19 Jul 2005 17:52:29 -0400 Message-Id: <42DD7644.5040304@khandalf.com> Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:53:08 +0200 From: "Brian O'Mahoney" Reply-To: omb@bluewin.ch User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.2 (X11/20050317) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 CC: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: how to be (SAFE) a kernel developer ? References: <5a3ed56505071807357fc419e7@mail.gmail.com> <9a87484905071818116f7cb0de@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <9a87484905071818116f7cb0de@mail.gmail.com> X-Enigmail-Version: 0.90.2.0 X-Enigmail-Supports: pgp-inline, pgp-mime Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Md5-Body: 8926199c10778946ac1ae66d2da59490 X-Transmit-Date: Tuesday, 19 Jul 2005 23:53:18 +0200 X-Message-Uid: 0000b49cec9d0588000000020000000042dd764e000481da00000001000bcc53 Replyto: omb@bluewin.ch X-Sender-Postmaster: Postmaster@84-73-132-32.dclient.hispeed.ch. Read-Receipt-To: omb@bluewin.ch X-DCC-spamcheck-01.tornado.cablecom.ch-Metrics: smtp-03.tornado.cablecom.ch 32700; Body=1 Fuz1=1 Fuz2=1 To: unlisted-recipients:; (no To-header on input) Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Jesper Juhl wrote: ... much useful advice, almost all of which I agree with _BUT_ please do NOT debug kernel mods on your 'main-box', where your filesystems live. unless you like to live dangerously and make perfect backups you don't mind spending lots of hours restoring, unless you want to specialise in file systems, but maybe do want to work on device drivers use a --- sacrifical system, and, for example NFS mount everything, on it from your main box, otherwise use a cheap local disk just for your fs stuff then when you blow it there is no FS damage and you don't need to wait for FSCK, or Journal Replay, when your fs works you can live more dangerously ;-) You will also need a main system, and serial X-over cable, if you want to use some of the increasing number of tools, kdb, kgdb, kprobes .... that assume a 2 box setup Finally, Linus personally dislikes debuggers, ... 'read the source Luke' so patches to the mm or mainstream should be grounded an source code analysis, not it works or xxx has 0x1234 in it. -- mit freundlichen Grüßen, Brian.