Section 13.1. Introduction

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13.1. Introduction

The Linux kernel is the core of a Linux system. In order to understand it well, it's necessary to break it down into manageable portions and to tackle each portion in a layered fashion. Here's a description of each section of this chapter:

• Kernel Basics,which discusses system calls and interrupts.

• The File System,which describes how the directory hierarchy, regular files, peripherals, and multiple file systems are managed.

• Process Management,which explains how processes share the CPU.

• Virtual Memory Management,which explains how processes access and share memory.

• Input Output,which describes how processes access files.

• Interprocess Communication (IPC),which explains the mechanisms that allow processes to communicate with each other, even if they're on different machines.