hi
i hav recently started working with red hat linux .i want to start driver programming.
but i dont't know how to set up or configure kernel source tree. and that is the first requirement as mentioned in the device driver programming book.
help wud be much appreciated.
zsj 0 Newbie Poster
John A 1,896 Vampirical Lurker Team Colleague
The official download site for the Linux kernel is kernel.org. You can also get kernel source through your package manager, although keep in mind that Red Hat Linux is an old and outdated distro, so you probably won't be able to get an up to date kernel with it. In fact, I'd recommend upgrading to Fedora or Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or simply moving on to another distro. Especially when you're developing stuff for the kernel, it's important that you develop using modern interfaces and technologies.
zsj 0 Newbie Poster
hi there!
but i m still confused.
1: exactly "what" is meant by "configure source tree"
2: i hav installed linux red hat 9. wud that be ok for driver development.
3: won't i get kernel source automatically if i hav installed the OS.
i m totally lost.
help wud be appreciated
John A 1,896 Vampirical Lurker Team Colleague
>exactly "what" is meant by "configure source tree"
You need a configuration file before you can build your kernel. A Linux kernel configuration contains instructions for which modules to build, which modules to exclude, and which modules to compile directly into the kernel image itself. The kernel source is usually configured with menuconfig or xconfig .
>i hav installed linux red hat 9. wud that be ok for driver development.
It's certainly possible to do driver development with it, but it's far from ideal. Let's see... Red Hat Linux was discontinued 4 years ago, and support has been dropped for it for over a year. More importantly, why are you using such an outdated distro given the hundreds of others that exist out there?
>won't i get kernel source automatically if i hav installed the OS.
No.
Perhaps you should learn how to compile and install a kernel first before attempting to write drivers and modules for it.
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