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diff --git a/Documentation/process/8.Conclusion.rst b/Documentation/process/8.Conclusion.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b32a40215 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/process/8.Conclusion.rst @@ -0,0 +1,75 @@ +.. _development_conclusion: + +For more information +==================== + +There are numerous sources of information on Linux kernel development and +related topics. First among those will always be the Documentation +directory found in the kernel source distribution. The top-level :ref:`process/howto.rst <process_howto>` +file is an important starting point; :ref:`process/submitting-patches.rst <submittingpatches>` +and :ref:`process/submitting-drivers.rst <submittingdrivers>` +are also something which all kernel developers should +read. Many internal kernel APIs are documented using the kerneldoc +mechanism; "make htmldocs" or "make pdfdocs" can be used to generate those +documents in HTML or PDF format (though the version of TeX shipped by some +distributions runs into internal limits and fails to process the documents +properly). + +Various web sites discuss kernel development at all levels of detail. Your +author would like to humbly suggest https://lwn.net/ as a source; +information on many specific kernel topics can be found via the LWN kernel +index at: + + https://lwn.net/Kernel/Index/ + +Beyond that, a valuable resource for kernel developers is: + + https://kernelnewbies.org/ + +And, of course, one should not forget https://kernel.org/, the definitive +location for kernel release information. + +There are a number of books on kernel development: + + Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition (Jonathan Corbet, Alessandro + Rubini, and Greg Kroah-Hartman). Online at + https://lwn.net/Kernel/LDD3/. + + Linux Kernel Development (Robert Love). + + Understanding the Linux Kernel (Daniel Bovet and Marco Cesati). + +All of these books suffer from a common fault, though: they tend to be +somewhat obsolete by the time they hit the shelves, and they have been on +the shelves for a while now. Still, there is quite a bit of good +information to be found there. + +Documentation for git can be found at: + + https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/ + + https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/user-manual.html + + +Conclusion +========== + +Congratulations to anybody who has made it through this long-winded +document. Hopefully it has provided a helpful understanding of how the +Linux kernel is developed and how you can participate in that process. + +In the end, it's the participation that matters. Any open source software +project is no more than the sum of what its contributors put into it. The +Linux kernel has progressed as quickly and as well as it has because it has +been helped by an impressively large group of developers, all of whom are +working to make it better. The kernel is a premier example of what can be +done when thousands of people work together toward a common goal. + +The kernel can always benefit from a larger developer base, though. There +is always more work to do. But, just as importantly, most other +participants in the Linux ecosystem can benefit through contributing to the +kernel. Getting code into the mainline is the key to higher code quality, +lower maintenance and distribution costs, a higher level of influence over +the direction of kernel development, and more. It is a situation where +everybody involved wins. Fire up your editor and come join us; you will be +more than welcome. |