Zack's Kernel News
Zack's Kernel News
Chronicler Zack Brown reports on printk() wrangling, persistent memory as a generalized resource, making Kernel headers available on running systems, and Kernel licensing Hell.
printk() Wrangling
Everyone hates the printk() function, because it's supposed to do something very simple – print output to the console – but in order to do that it has to overcome tremendous obstacles, like producing its output while the system itself is in the very midst of total destruction. Unlike other functions, printk() can't rely on any other part of the system actually working. At least, that's the ideal.
John Ogness recently tried to improve matters. Specifically, among other things, he wanted to free printk() from the constraint of requiring a global lock. He wanted to make it pre-emptible, so that even the deep, dark parts of the kernel that absolutely needed to be able to interrupt everything could still call printk() in times of crisis.
It's a worthy goal. If those deep, dark parts of the kernel can't use printk(), then they can't report what went wrong if they were involved in a system crash. Making printk() pre-emptible would allow every nook and cranny of the kernel to give relevant information that could help to debug the crash.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
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
-
Linux 7.4 is "Much Healthier" Thanks to AI
At nearly 42 million lines, Linux 7.4 is the largest merge in the kernel’s history.
-
Working Exploit for a Linux Kernel Flaw Made Public
Even before a bug received its CVE identifier or an upstream fix, the local privilege escalation vulnerability exploit found its way into the wild.
-
r/opensource Bans AI-Assisted and AI-Related Projects
The de facto subreddit for all things open source has not only banned AI-related projects but also users who "don't speak English."
-
Bottlenecks Discovered by Meta Engineers Lead to Scalability Improvements
Thanks to a small group of engineers at Meta, the Linux kernel module kernfs has been improved, which has led to some serious gains.
-
PwnEscape Poses VM Vulnerability
A guest-to-host escape flaw in Linux KVM, named PwnEscape, might be yet another means of attacking Linux.
-
Linux Mint 27 Set for a Christmas Release
The developers behind Linux Mint have announced a Christmas release, and it looks like Santa's sack will be brimming with features.
-
Is Linus Torvalds Vibe Coding?
The creator of Linux has added AI into his process for Linux kernel development, and it's more than just for debugging.
-
openKylin 3.0 Released with Expanded AI Integration
The latest release features a pre-installed AI agent to help perform tasks.
-
DigitalOcean Ends Open Source Credits Program
In a change that has surprised many open source developers, DigitalOcean has decided to sunset its Open Source Credits Program.
-
Office 365 Available for Testing on Linux via Bottles
Linux users can now test the official Office 365, thanks to Mirko Brombin's work on Bottles.