This book covers in a excelent way all the process for creating device drivers. Its very good for who wants to start to programming and for who already knows how to programming.

This books must be the top priority for ever developer who wants to develop emebedded systems, based on Linux OS.

As a newbie it makes driver writing not so scary.
Technical masterpiece yet not over my head.

Used this to write my first linux driver on my own with no help. Great book, great layout, very well written. I have not read all of the 3rd Edition, since I am now working on Solaris, and did not work on the 2.6 kernel, but would assume thats good as well.

Used this to write my first linux driver on my own with no help. Great book, great layout, very well written. I have not read all of the 3rd Edition, since I am now working on Solaris, and did not work on the 2.6 kernel, but would assume thats good as well.

Un must per chi si avvicina alla programmazione di moduli del kernel, per chi e' esperto ma ha bisogno di un reference e per chi ne vuole sapere di piu'.

Il libro ha un'alta valenza didattica ed e' scritto in un linguaggio comprensibile e corretto. Gli esempi sono abbondanti e coprono bene gli argomenti trattati.

This book takes a hypothetical device driver and explains the concepts nicely. It provides various fundamentals one needs to know before writing linux device drivers, and valuable information like concurrent and race conditions, and gives ideas for debugging problems in real drivers. It is worth read and I liked it. I had already some experience in kernel programming before reading this book, and it filled holes in my kernel knowledge. This book is also available online[...] and you may check yourself before buying this.

The objections made by other reviewers fall into the following two classes. Once you are a experienced hacker, all you need is kernel sources (books are for fundamentals only and become obsolete as new kernel constructs are added). If you are looking for cut and paste template code to add new driver for another device, again use kernel source of an existing driver.

This book takes a hypothetical device driver and explains the concepts nicely. It provides various fundamentals one needs to know before writing linux device drivers, and valuable information like concurrent and race conditions, and gives ideas for debugging problems in real drivers. It is worth read and I liked it. I had already some experience in kernel programming before reading this book, and it filled holes in my kernel knowledge. This book is also available online[...] and you may check yourself before buying this.

The objections made by other reviewers fall into the following two classes. Once you are a experienced hacker, all you need is kernel sources (books are for fundamentals only and become obsolete as new kernel constructs are added). If you are looking for cut and paste template code to add new driver for another device, again use kernel source of an existing driver.

This book is not for Linux (kernel) newbies but for those who already know their way around the kernel and seek detailed info on certain parts of it. This book has some good overviews on different subsystems of the Linux kernel. Some sections, like USB, have been expanded since the second edition of this book. I would have liked to see a section on the new 2.6 scheduler.

If you want to start off with Linux kernel programming, I would recommend Linux Kernel Development by Robert Love. These books, together with articles on the web, should certainly help anyone interested.

This book is not for Linux (kernel) newbies but for those who already know their way around the kernel and seek detailed info on certain parts of it. This book has some good overviews on different subsystems of the Linux kernel. Some sections, like USB, have been expanded since the second edition of this book. I would have liked to see a section on the new 2.6 scheduler.

If you want to start off with Linux kernel programming, I would recommend Linux Kernel Development by Robert Love. These books, together with articles on the web, should certainly help anyone interested.

If you are trying to learn how to write Linux Device drivers from scratch, this is probably not the book for you. I believe I am somewhat C/C++ savvy, and I expect sample code that is less than 10 lines of code to compile correctly.
The sample code did not compile, and although the book has a lot of tidbits of good information, overall it is not very useful for a developer.

If you are trying to learn how to write Linux Device drivers from scratch, this is probably not the book for you. I believe I am somewhat C/C++ savvy, and I expect sample code that is less than 10 lines of code to compile correctly.
The sample code did not compile, and although the book has a lot of tidbits of good information, overall it is not very useful for a developer.

This book was so badly written that I just couldn't help writing my first review on Amazon. I NEVER bothered writting reviews.

While I fully respect the authors' decision in providing the book online under the Creative Commons license, and while I do not doubt the sincerity of their intentions, the book is a total f*ck up. And f*ck up is an understatement.

The book:
1) Is unorganized :-

I felt I was being bombarded by information from all directions. One moment I was getting ready to test a simple "hello world" module, and the other I'm suddenly faced with a some strange esoteric block diagram showing "how function calls and function pointers are used in a module to add new functionality to a running kernel." with strange function names that were not mentioned and do not get mentioned for the rest of the chapter. How the hell did I get here? It just pisses you off and breaks your thought process and leaves you clueless and frustrated.

2) Is upside-down:-

I read chapter 3 (Char drivers) and I compare it to real device drivers and some things just don't match. The book seems very theoretical because the "real" device drivers call some other functions that are not mentioned at all. After digging in the kernel source files and googling the internet I realize that in the "real world" there is a whole driver-model and generic objects and what not. Reading the source code documentation and some online material I actually understand how the "real" drivers work. I still don't understand the stuff in the book. I start wondering whether there is any mention of the driver-model and I find it in chapter 14 !!!!!!! The driver model seems, in my opinion, the first step to understanding how "real" drivers work and I find it after 14 chapters of utter nonsensce!! Not only that, the authors decide that "many driver authors can ignore the device model entirely" and "The complexity of the device model makes it hard to understand by starting with a high-level view"... surpisingly it was easier to understand from online sources and the source code documentation than trying to read chapter 2 in the book!

3) Is sadistic:-

One thing I really hated was the carrot-and-stick approach the authors chose. First they give you a small tiny taste of a topic which finally seems relevant and just when you feel you're about to reach somewhere, they do a complete u-turn and throw all kinds of irrelevant off-the-topic rubish that leaves you sorry you were so shamefull as to expect any better. You end up confused, annoyed, and duped. Like in chapter 2 when they presented the code for the "hello world" module. OK fine. Seems easy enough. You naturally assume that this is an invitation to write the same code yourself. HAHA WROONG! The book suddenly does a "make hello.c" without showing you the content of the makefile. It leaves you out to dry with your uncompilable-"hello.c" and goes on describing IN DETAIL seemingly random stuff. You are left wondering whether the makefile must have been something too obvious to bother noting down and you start wondering whether to try to create a simple makefile or continue reading the chapter "as-is". I chose the former. HAHAHA WROONG AGAAIIN! I ended up compiling my whole kernel source tree because of something they decide to mention only 7 sections later.(At least they mentioned it?!)

In summary.. I'd suggest you buy the book.. and (as "./Documentation/ManagementStyle" for another book says): "NOT read it. Burn it, it's a great symbolic gesture".

I don't think anyone could have done a better job at making a worse technical book. If you come across any online material that "recommends" this book, *QUICKLY* discard that material too .. without thinking.

This is a -5 stars book. It has affected me personally.

[A review of the 3RD EDITION, 2005.]

Device drivers will always be a small speciality in any operating system. Linux is no exception. While it grows strongly, most programmers using it simply can ignore issues of hooking up to various hardware items. Someone has already worked those out. Well, here you are that someone and this book addresses many of your needs.

The coding is in C. No fancy object oriented stuff for you. Many higher level OO programmers are simply unaware of the extra overhead it takes. But you need to maximise performance, so it is C for you. Plus, to understand much of the book, it really helps to have written some assembly code, because it makes it easier to understand many low level operations discussed.

Prior acquaintance with the overall design of a linux memory manager and interrupt handlers is also good. The book explains well individual issues as they arise. But having a clear, top-down understanding of the linux kernel may give you more context to understand the chapters.

I used this book to write a device driver for my computer engineering senior project. It was very helpfull, but could improve. 2nd edition covers almost everything you'll need for 2.4 kernel drivers. Organization is like a text book that includes reference material, but attempts to be a tutorial. Hopefully the 3rd edition will be better organized. I noticed lots of negative reviews on Amazon, but after reading some chapters on safari (the oreilly free book site) I decided to purchase it any ways. If you buy this book and don't have a solid background in operating systems, computer architecture, and microprocessor interfacing you probably won't have an easy time understanding several key topics well enough to write a working driver. This will probably make you mad enough to write another bad review.

I used this book to write a device driver for my computer engineering senior project and found it to be very helpfull, but it could have been better. Almost everything you'll need to know for 2.4 kernel drivers is in the 2nd edditon. The organization of the book is more like a text book crossed with a reference book, but parts of the book attempt to be a tutorial. Maybe the 3rd edition will be better organized. I noticed lots of negative reviews on Amazon, but after reading some chapters on safari, the oreilly free book site, I decided to purchase it. If you buy this book and don't have a solid background in operating systems, computer architecture, and microprocessor interfacing you probably won't have an easy time understanding several key topics well enough to successfully write a working driver. Which will probably lead to you being mad and writing a bad review.

I can't understand the 5-star reviews of this book. I wonder if anyone who gave the book 5 stars ever tried to sit down and actually write a device driver. I doubt it.

The book suffers from two main problems:

1. Presentation is disorganized. The book reads as if the authors sat down and planned out what chapters to cover. That part is good. It does NOT seem like they planned further than that. The text within each chapter seems haphazard. Disorganized. Thrown together. The authors have no concept of when to start a new paragraph, so topics are strung together piecemeal. The whole book is confusing, making the reading of this book very frustrating.

2. The material is presented at a frenetic pace. As I was reading the book, it felt like there was a conveyor belt feeding me information, getting faster and faster without a break. The authors feel like they can throw everything but the kitchen sink at you in a very short time. Information, minute details, big ideas, analogies, and code get thrown at you fast and furious. It starts at chapter one and just gets worse from there, making the reading of this book downright difficult.

Difficult and confusing. A good characterization of the book.

In summary, this book is NOT a tutorial. It is NOT a guide. Don't make the mistake of buying this book expecting a gentle (or even a not-so-gentle) introduction to writing device drivers.

IMHO, the market is still open for a good book on the subject of writing device drivers for Linux.

This book's #1 audience is the Unix device-driver writer who wants to understand how Linux's kernel, interfaces, and data structures work. #2 comes the journeyman software engineer who wants to look "below" the application layer, toward creating more efficient programs.

There are clear, *working* examples throughout the book. Each chapter builds on the previous one. Complex issues come late in the book, after the reader has had time to build a framework for understanding.

Few who have read previous Rubini guides will be in too much doubt as to the merit of this one. I hadn't understood that the book actually dealt with software systems and hardware before I bought it, but I think it's a little bit harsh to critique the book on this basis, and am happy to give it the full five stars. I know all I need to know about Linux and devices now. Meanwhile, if anyone knows where to buy an automated Lino-cutter, I'd be grateful for your thoughts.

I picked up this book about the beginning of my linux programming experience. It was all pretty, and the suggested material inside also led me further down learning lane. But, the book itself was not very helpful to me. I had no idea where to start, and the only tutorial in chap. 2 was ok, but had no use to anyone who wants more than "hello world". It wouldn't work without forcing insmod, then the kernel complained. Learning the Microsoft WDM was easier than this book made things... B-sides, we can all do the same things in C. All in All, i was frustrated with this book.

It's free at [web address] if anyone felt like an online reference to linux drivers.

Bottom Line: As others stated above; not for the beginning linux driver writer. I await the fruits of: "Writing Linux Device Drivers; Takanari Hayama" Due in mid-December. Hold out for it, maybe that'll b more in depth. I'll tell u either way -

Before starting let me assure you that I had written SCSI drivers for SVR4 and 4.2. I had also done some proprietary drivers for *BSDs earlier during undergrad/grad years.

After reading all the reviews and all the ravings about this book, I made the mistake of spending my money on it! Alas! What a waste. Its like one gigantic piece of mish-mash-mess. All the information might be in there (who knows). But, finding out the correct info is almost impossible! The scull driver is a joke.

Another irritating thing about the book is that it attempts to throw all sorts of info at you, all at the same time! Guys, take a break. Present information, one at a time, and only when needed.

Essentially, I was trying to write a driver to read information off my Nikon F100 onto my TP600 running Mandrake 8.0. And life was miserable till I finally started digging through some other driver code that you get with the kernel sources. Gosh, that made life so simple.

But, when I first read this book, I was almost ready to give up writing Linux drivers. I didn't know where to start and where I would end up! I was lost, confused, and felt utterly hopeless.

Also, I wondered if the other guys who had raved about this book were:
1. the authors and their friends?
2. guys who had no clue what they were talking/writing about?
3. guys who were happy to see that there was a book on Linux drivers, but neither bought nor read it!

So, don't trust these reviews. This is one heck of a horrible book that you should most definitely stay away from. Cause if you read, you would never be able to write any useful drivers.

Read the source.

This was an incredibly useful and finely written book. I found the structure and progression of the material to be extremely good and well thought out. It has proved itself invaluable to me.

the book is very good... takes from basics to internal kernel stuff

This is a good book - and I joined the Linux kernel immortals by writing a driver for a previously unsupported device based on it. But it does have a few flaws.
Firstly, it is pretty much Intel (ix86) specific - other processors are mentioned in passing.
Secondly it doesn't deal with the real world of Linux devices (ie where the manufacturer has told you little or nothing).
And thirdly, it never quite goes far enough in exploring the difficult issues - I thought this was the case with IRQ handling especially.
But, all in all, the best on offer and well worth buying.