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Diffstat (limited to 'appendixa/kernel-desc.xml')
| -rw-r--r-- | appendixa/kernel-desc.xml | 31 |
1 files changed, 14 insertions, 17 deletions
diff --git a/appendixa/kernel-desc.xml b/appendixa/kernel-desc.xml index 86857e757..da763659c 100644 --- a/appendixa/kernel-desc.xml +++ b/appendixa/kernel-desc.xml @@ -4,23 +4,20 @@ <para>(Last checked against version &kernel-contversion;.)</para> -<sect3><title>Program file descriptions</title> - -<sect4><title>linux kernel</title> -<para>The Linux kernel is at the core of every Linux system. It's what makes -Linux tick. When a computer is turned on and boots a Linux system, the -very first piece of Linux software that gets loaded is the kernel. The -kernel initializes the system's hardware components: serial ports, parallel -ports, sound cards, network cards, IDE controllers, SCSI controllers and a -lot more. In a nutshell the kernel makes the hardware available so that the -software can run.</para></sect4> - -<sect4><title>linux kernel headers</title> -<para>These are the files we copy to -<filename>/usr/include/{linux,asm}</filename> in Chapter 6. They should -match those which glibc was compiled against and therefore should -<emphasis>not</emphasis> be replaced when upgrading the kernel. They are -essential for compiling many programs.</para></sect4> +<sect3><title>File descriptions</title> + +<para>The <emphasis>kernel</emphasis> is the engine of your GNU/Linux system. +When switching on your box, the kernel is the first part of your operating +system that gets loaded. It detects and initializes all the components of your +computer's hardware, then makes these components available as a tree of files +to the software, and turns a single CPU into a multi-tasking machine capable +of running scores of programs seemingly at the same time.</para> + +<para>The <emphasis>kernel headers</emphasis> define the interface to the +services that the kernel provides. The headers in your system's +<filename>include</filename> directory should <emphasis>always</emphasis> be +the ones against which Glibc was compiled and should therefore +<emphasis>not</emphasis> be replaced when upgrading the kernel.</para> </sect3> |