ancient kernels 2576

Thanks to Michael Black for his many comments and suggestions. If I choose to disagree with some (but not all) of his remarks, it doesn't mean that I don't appreciate them.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind as I consider what to read next.

I don't understand the difference between looking at all the code at one time and looking at the functions one by one. No matter how one reads all the code, one has to do it in some order, which ultimately implies reading one function (or whatever) at a time and maybe returning to some of them for further information from time to time.

When I get to the point where I am bored by the endless repebreastiveness of the driver source code, I'm sure I'll agree with you. The Catch-22 in what you write is the phrase, "once you understand the basic of one driver", which sweeps under the rug the process by which one comes to understand that driver. Part of the process could include realizing that certain things are routine because they are done in every driver, even if one doesn't exactly know what those things really mean. This is an example where what I like to call "format" conveys information one is not necessarily prepared to extract by other means.

Maybe. But I won't know for sure unless I look at all of it. One reason for selecting such an old kernel is that it is very small and may not be impractical to read as a whole.

I have at least one clear goal. I don't want to state it here, but I do have one. It might not be an accessible goal, and I understand that I take that risk when I embark on projects that I'm not really properly prepared to undertake, but sometimes I get lucky. I'm not unwilling to consider, while working on it, other things that I might realize I'm becoming prepared to do.

Maybe. But I don't see how I will be any better off by tackling a future "fix" project with no prior experience reading the kernel than I will be after having made some attempt to read it. I do fall in the category of just wanting to do it for its own sake and being fully prepared to give up if I decide it's not a good idea. I'm certainly not going to forget about it without at least trying a little bit. Anyway, I'm somewhat historically minded and I read clbuttics in other subjects as well and try to draw inspiration from them. It doesn't mean I'm not interested in more modern developments, quite the opposite, but it is often quite illuminating to read older materials. I won't go into detail here, since it is way off topic for this NG, but I've had some good experiences with this approach.

They are two separate questions. I'd like the answers to both but I'll settle for one or the other.

Like reading Macbeth or Tristam Shandy instead of Ubu Roi or Finnegans Wake? (I hope that is a fair comparison). :)

Thanks, this is a very helpful suggestion. I just googled it and downloaded at least the LFS book.

I'm not ready for that yet, but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks again. -- Ignorantly, * 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.