Blog post: The Linux kernel is just a program (serversfor.dev)
from zknd@lemmy.world to programming@programming.dev on 05 Dec 11:54
https://lemmy.world/post/39753997

I’ve been working on a “Linux Inside Out” series and wrote a post that might interest folks here who like low(ish)-level / OS internals.

The idea is to dissect the components of a Linux OS, layer by layer, and build a mental model of how everything fits together through experiments.

The first part is about the kernel, in the post I:

The goal isn’t to build a real distro, just to give a concrete mental model of:

Link: https://serversfor.dev/linux-inside-out/the-linux-kernel-is-just-a-program/

I’m the author, would be happy to hear from other devs whether this way of explaining things makes sense, and what you’d add or change for future posts in the series.

Hope you find it useful.

#programming

threaded - newest

DickFiasco@sh.itjust.works on 05 Dec 12:38 next collapse

Thank you, this is a great explanation. I look forward to the rest of this series.

Edit: I successfully booted a Debian kernel using this tutorial, though I wrote the init program in C++ instead of Go. The process is pretty much the same, but you have to add the -static flag to g++ since the C runtime is not included in the initramfs. This might be obvious to more seasoned programmers but it took me a minute to figure it out.

zknd@lemmy.world on 05 Dec 12:53 collapse

Thank you for the feedback.

ambitiousslab@lemmy.ml on 05 Dec 13:05 next collapse

It’s a very good explanation. I like that it is short and hands on. For me, it is pitched at the right level and the practical style keeps it very grounded.

what you’d add or change for future posts in the series

I wouldn’t change anything to do with the content! Speaking personally, I’m a fan of full text RSS feeds, so I’d love one on this blog if that’s an option :)

zknd@lemmy.world on 05 Dec 13:24 next collapse

Thank you for the feedback.

Sure, I will look into the RSS plugin config. :)

AWizard_ATrueStar@lemmy.world on 05 Dec 13:50 collapse

I think there is one. All the way at the bottom of the page I see a link for RSS and I was able to add it to my RSS reader. It looks like everything is there unless I am missing something.

ambitiousslab@lemmy.ml on 05 Dec 20:31 collapse

I’m not sure if your RSS reader is getting the content through some special way. The feed itself only has the first two paragraphs:

<item>
  <title>The Linux kernel is just a program</title>
  <link>https://serversfor.dev/linux-inside-out/the-linux-kernel-is-just-a-program/</link>
  <guid isPermaLink="true">https://serversfor.dev/linux-inside-out/the-linux-kernel-is-just-a-program/</guid>
  <description>Most books and courses introduce Linux through shell commands, leaving the kernel as a mysterious black box doing magic behind the scenes. In this post, we will run some experiments to demystify it: the Linux kernel is just a binary that you can build and run.</description>
  <pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
</item>
zknd@lemmy.world on 07 Dec 08:41 collapse

Turned out it is not so simple to add the full content of the post to the RSS feed with Astro’s RSS plugin, but trying to find some workaround.

ambitiousslab@lemmy.ml on 07 Dec 22:18 collapse

Ok, no pressure anyway! Thanks for looking into it :)

gsx@discuss.tchncs.de on 05 Dec 14:31 next collapse

Nice article. Waiting for the upcoming parts.

Blinry did something similar not to lomg ago, maybe it’s interesting for you, too: blinry.org/tiny-linux/

sfxrlz@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 05 Dec 14:46 next collapse

This looks really interesting. I’ll have a look when I get home.

harsh3466@lemmy.ml on 05 Dec 15:50 next collapse

This sounds awesome. I’m going to read this tomorrow when I can give it my full attention.

calliope@retrolemmy.com on 05 Dec 16:07 next collapse

This is very cool, thanks for sharing!

I did a similar exercise a decade ago with HTTP and it was fun and eye-opening.

LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 05 Dec 17:35 next collapse

That’s so cool! Thanks for sharing it!

lascapi@jlai.lu on 05 Dec 19:51 collapse

That looks simple when someone (you) say it simply.

Thank you for that. 😌