Userspace drivers in the new Linux kernel

DRIVER SHIFT

Article from Issue 86/2008

Author(s): BY EVA-KATHARINA KUNST AND JÜRGEN QUADE

New versions of the Linux kernel will support a special userspace driver
model, but some technical pitfalls might limit the use of this interesting
new feature.

For years, developers had little success convincing Linus Torvalds of the need for a programming interface for userspace drivers. A userspace driver needs to provide application program interfaces for hardware access, like any other driver; however, the userspace driver operates from the application layer, so it runs in non-privi leged mode. Now Linus has finally given up his resistance. The future kernel 2.6.23 will permit userspace drivers, and it will provide a kernel interface for them . The code originated with Greg Kroah-Hart-man and his Industrial IO interface.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF

Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES

Print Issues

Digital Issues

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Print Subs

Digisubs

TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS

US / Canada

UK / Australia

Related content

AMD Posts Code for Linux GPU Driver

New release marks the arrival of AMD’s unified driver strategy.

more »
Kernel News

more »
Minix 3

Minix is often viewed as the spiritual predecessor of Linux, but these two Unix cousins could never agree on the kernel design. Now a new Minix with a BSD-style free license is poised to attract a new generation of users.

more »
Intel Launches Wimax Program for Linux

Chip manufacturer Intel has relaunched its development program for Linux. This time, the focus is on Wimax.

more »
Linux 2.6.25 without Closed Source USB Drivers

A controversial patch for the imminent kernel 2.6.25 is causing much debate in the developer community: in a similar move to one he made two years ago, the well-known kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman has submitted a patch that prevents closed source USB drivers from using the kernel's USB driver API.

more »

comments powered by Disqus

News

Nextcloud Announces Raspberry Pi-Powered Home Cloud Box

Innovative system adds a hard drive and Ubuntu Core to the RPi for an IoT hub.
Linus Torvalds Confirms the Date of the First Linux Release

Linux is two weeks younger than we thought!
End of OpenOffice?

OpenOffice

The Apache Software Foundation considers retiring OpenOffice
Adobe Gives New Life to NPAPI Plugin for Linux

Adobe Flash , Flash Player

Adobe won’t kill the plugin in 2017
LinuxCon North America Convenes in Toronto, Canada

Linux Foundation's big event celebrates the 25th anniversary of Linux
Linux Turns 25

Linux has evolved from “won’t be a professional” project to one of the most professional software projects in the history of computers.
Mirantis Joins Hands with SUSE To Offer RHEL Support; Red Hat Not Happy

Competitors get in the game with RHEL without Red Hat
Linux on Windows 10 Poses a Security Risk

Security researchers have already notified Microsoft; some fixes are available
Mirantis to Refactor OpenStack Fuel for Kubernetes

The company is collaborating with Google and Intel to use Kubernetes as an engine for Fuel
Canonical Joins Document Foundation Advisory Board

The upcoming release of LibreOffice will be available as a snap package