Linux Device Drivers is a practical guide for anyone who wants to support computer peripherals under the Linux operating system or who wants to develop new hardware and run it under Linux. Device drivers are the essential interpreters between the device and the applications that use it. This new book reveals information previously available only through word-of-mouth or in cryptic source code comments.

Linux Device Drivers is a step-by-step guide, illustrated with full-featured examples that show driver design issues which you can compile and run without special hardware. For those curious about how an operating system does its job, this book provides insights into address spaces, asynchronous events, and I/O. Linux Device Drivers also shows you how to maximize portability among hardware platforms. The book is centered on version 2.0, but also covers 1.2.13 and experimental versions up to 2.1.43.

"Linux Device Drivers fills a void in the published Linux support area. Rubini's writing style is clear and direct; the examples illustrate the concepts without being overly complicated. This is a thorough book which guides the reader through the different types of device drivers, their mechanisms, and issues relative to the kernal and kernal programming. Linux Device Drivers will become a valuable, productive, and effective guide to the considerations of writing device drivers that every Linux programmer will want and need."-Sys Admin, January 1998

About the Author

Alessandro Rubini installed Linux 0.99.14 soon after getting his degree as Electronic Engineer. He received a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Pavia despite his aversion to modern technology. Alas, he still enjoys digging in technology and discovering the intelligence of people who created it; that's why he now works in his apartment with three PCs, an Alpha, a SPARC, and an Apple-the last without Linux. But you might find him roaming around in the north of Italy on his bike, which doesn't carry an electronic cyclometer. He lives in Pavia, Italy.