The UNIX system is mainly composed of three different parts: the kernel, the file system, and the shell. [The kernel] is that part of the system which manages the resources of whatever computer system it lives on, to keep track of the disks, tapes, printers, terminals, communication lines and any other devices. The file system … Read more
Before we go further, it’s worth underlining the various differences between a kernel module and an application. Whereas an application performs a single task from beginning to end, a module registers itself in order to serve future requests, and its “main” function terminates immediately. In other words, the task of the function init_module (the module’s entry … Read more
Security is an increasingly important concern in modern times. We will discuss security-related issues as they come up. There are a few general concepts, however, that are worth mentioning now. Security has two faces, which can be called deliberate and incidental. One security problem is the damage a user can cause through the misuse of … Read more
In a Unix system, several concurrent processes attend to different tasks. Each process asks for system resources, be it computing power, memory, network connectivity, or some other resource. The kernel is the big chunk of executable code in charge of handling all such requests. Though the distinction between the different kernel tasks isn’t always clearly … Read more