Linux – Embedded Driver and Kernel Development (LNXKRN1)

Unix-like systems, Linux - programming

Many simple drivers run as applications in user space, but sometimes you must run code inside the kernel or modify existing kernel sources to meet project needs. Set up a virtual machine or real target hardware to begin practical experiments.

Linux evolved since 1991 and provides an object-like driver model to work with memory and I/O controllers and dedicated buses such as I2C, SPI, USB or PCI Express. The course covers implementations in C, with optional Rust or C++ tracks and targets x86-64 or ARM64.

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The course:

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• Kernel initialization
1. Kernel boot image and the device tree
2. Root filesystem and the init process
3. Loadable modules and initramfs

• Setting up the lab environment
1. Virtual machine environment
2. Build environment and tooling
3. Running your first kernel code

• Constraints and specifics of kernel code
1. No stable driver API guarantees
2. Long-term maintenance of kernel code
3. Design specifics for kernel-space code

• User-space alternatives
1. Device drivers running in user space
2. More stable APIs toward user space
3. Wider choice of programming languages

• Building kernel modules
1. Initialization and cleanup
2. Acquiring and releasing resources
3. Registering operation structures

• Creating user-space interfaces
1. Virtual filesystem interfaces
2. Read, write and ioctl operations
3. Roles of procfs, sysfs and debugfs

• Exposing character devices
1. Global character device numbering
2. Dynamic miscdev allocation
3. Publishing devices via devtmpfs

• Hardware driver mechanics
1. Linux device driver model
2. Initialization and teardown flows
3. Resource acquisition and release

• Representing hardware buses
1. Devices accessed by CPU instructions
2. Buses without enumeration (I2C, SPI, …)
3. Smart buses with enumeration (USB, PCI, …)

• Connecting user space with hardware
1. Presenting hardware devices to applications
2. Character devices and the block layer
3. Integration with specialized subsystems

• Kernel module design patterns
1. Rollback on failed initialization
2. Callbacks using container_of
3. Preallocated buffers and FIFOs

• Dynamic module loading infrastructure
1. Module loading and unloading steps
2. Symbol dependencies between modules
3. Resource management and blocked removal

• Locking and waiting mechanisms
1. Mutexes and working with kernel threads
2. Spinlocks, interrupts and synchronization
3. Timers and wait queues

• Support for ARM boards
1. Device and board files
2. Binary device tree
3. Pinctrl, GPIO and interrupts

• Discussion about kernel development
1. Differences vs. bare-metal programming
2. Real-time and performance considerations
3. Legal, community and PR aspects

Assumed knowledge:

Good knowledge of C programming.

Schedule:

5 days (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM )

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