I've been reading a couple of books on Linux internals, specifically Linux Device Drivers and Linux Kernel Development. I also have some old books on operating system that I'm planning to read. I'm enjoying the illusion of understanding some of what I'm reading, but haven't really tested it by reading kernel source or driver source. However, I decided this would be a good time to start looking into Hurd, even though I don't have a machine to install it on at the moment. I downloaded the mach and hurd documentation and found the description of mach very interesting. So, I'm thinking I would like to start studying the mach source code, even though I'm not very well prepared to do so.
One thing I've found in reading about Linux is how important it is to understand the declarations in the kernel header files. So, not having any better idea how to proceed, I'm starting to read the header files in include/mach. It really is not possible for me to install Mach or Hurd at this time. I'm not prepared to spend what it costs to purchase the debian-hurd disks and I'm not sure whether my hardware is adequate. Furthermore, once I install it, I will be very distracted by the need to actually use it and I think that there my education in the actual workings of mach and hurd will end. I think I'm better off just studying the source code at this point. I did try to run configure on the mach code, but it really can't be done since I'm presently using RedHat 7.1 and configure won't deal with it. Moreover, at this point, I'm really more interested in mach than in hurd. Maybe it is useless without Hurd, but I just have the impression that this is a good time to learn its basic concepts, before it gets so sophisticated and developed that I don't stand a chance. One thing that would be nice would be if I can figure out how to take certain of the basic data structures out of their mach or hurd context and just experiment with them on my own in my RH7 home directories. -- Ignorantly, Allan Adler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> * Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and * comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston. _______________________________________________ Gnu-misc-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss
