Need real beginners kernel exploration advice !?

[Tod Merley]

On Dec 23, 2007 7:10 AM, William Case <billlinux at rogers.com> wrote:
> Thanks Tod;
>
> All great resources which I have bookmarked and will use.
>
> On Sun, 2007-12-23 at 00:11 -0800, Tod Merley wrote:

> > > --
> This may be self-induced confusion, but I thought I remembered a Fedora
> source repository from two or three years ago.
> http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/5/source/SRPMS/
>
> When I go to the FedoraWiki I cannot find a repository or site for F8
> source rpms.
>
> The howtoforge.com site only makes reference to the FC5 and FC6 kernel
> srpms.  I have googled and found no Fedora 8 source repository.
>
> Should I get my source (tree?) from the kernel developers (kernel.org)
> or does Fedora have a source source?  If so where is it? I would like to
> start with a source copy of what my system is already using.
>
> Or, am I searching using the wrong search criteria?
> Or, do I have everything all mixed up?
>
>
> Regards Bill
>

Hi Bill!

You are doing just fine.  I believe the Kernel has a rather steep
learning curve.

Me, so far I have taken the gui way out and used Applications >
Add/Remove Software.  When Package Manager comes up I hit the "Search"
 tab and enter "kernel" in the search window.  After seeing that the
"All Packages" button is hit I click "Search".  I have found that I
need to take the time to compare the version numbers and type of
kernel as I select the development package for the kernel I have.  It
also shows me special "debug", Physical Address Extension (PAE), and
Xen (an efficient Virtualization hypervisor) Kernels built for my FC7
version.  I also see ketchup (a Kernel source switch/update tool) and
can find git, kvm, and qemu if I place them in the search window.

I did this mostly to help you.  I do plan to get into the Kernel -
about a year from now Lord willing.  Right now I am decifering the
/etc/init.d files.  I want to clearly understand the enviornment.

>From Wikipedia:

# January 25, 1999 - Linux 2.2.0 was released (1,800,847 lines of code).
# December 18, 1999 - IBM mainframe patches for 2.2.13 were published,
allowing Linux to be used on enterprise-class machines.
# January 4, 2001 - Linux 2.4.0 was released (3,377,902 lines of code).
# December 17, 2003 - Linux 2.6.0 was released (5,929,913 lines of code).

I would guess we are well over six million lines of code just for the
Kernel now!?

May God give us strength!

Tod