Teaching how to write device drivers
Driving Passion
maddog considers the benefits of teaching students how to write device drivers.
Recently, I was working with an “upstream” developer of Linux kernel device drivers. This particular developer was working in the media subsystem section of the kernel, where there are a LOT of device drivers because the media subsystem is either the second or third largest driver subsystem in the kernel. The developer reviewed about 3,000 patches per kernel cycle in addition to doing about 100 patches per kernel cycle himself. He was not complaining, just letting me know the work load.
In the midst of our discussions, he lamented:
Not actually knowing why Academia doesn’t contribute upstream, I would guess that writing a new driver is probably a too short project for them, as students are supposed to work on a 6-month to 2-year window, while writing a new driver takes only a few days with the proper datasheets and/ or a reference driver and a knowledgeable developer.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.