ix
Chapter 2
Preface
When the topic of this book was first presented to me, I dismissed it as some-
thing that was already covered by the plentiful documentation about the Linux
kernel. Surely someone had already written down all of the basics needed in order
to build, install, and customize the Linux kernel, because it seemed to be a very
simple task to me.
*
After digging through the different HOWTOs and the Linux kernel Documenta-
tion directory, I came to the conclusion that there was no one place where all of
this information could be found. It could be gleaned by referencing a few files
here, and a few outdated web sites there, but this was not acceptable for anyone
who did not know exactly what they were looking for in the first place.
So this book was created with the goal of consolidating all of the existing informa-
tion already scattered around the Internet about building the Linux kernel, as well
as adding a lot of new and useful information that was not written down
anywhere but had been learned by trial and error over my years of doing kernel
development.
My secret goal of this book is to bring more people into the Linux kernel develop-
ment fold. The act of building a customized kernel for your machine is one of the
basic tasks needed to become a Linux kernel developer. The more people that try
this out, and realize that there is not any real magic behind the whole Linux
kernel process, the more people will be willing to jump in and help out in making
the kernel the best that it can be.
* Disclaimer: I’m a Linux kernel developer by trade, so things that seem basic and simple to me at
times are completely incomprehensible by most people, as my family continues to remind me.
