Documentation

Text files with general explanations and hints about kernel components

arch

Platform-dependent code

→ i386

IBM’s PC architecture

→ kernel

Kernel core

→ mm

Memory management

→ math-emu

Software emulator for floating-point unit

→ lib

Hardware-dependent utility functions

→ boot

Bootstrapping

→ compressed

Compressed kernel handling

→ tools

Programs to build compressed kernel image

→ alpha

Hewlett-Packard’s Alpha architecture

→ arm

Architectures based on ARM processors

→ cris

Axis Communication AB’s Code Reduced Instruction Set architecture used by thin-servers

→ ia64

Workstations based on Intel’s 64-bit Itanium microprocessor

→ m68k

Motorola’s MC680x0-based architecture

→ mips

MIPS architecture adopted by Silicon Graphics and other computer manufacturers

→ mips64

64-bit MIPS architecture

→ parisc

HP 9000 parisc workstations

→ ppc

Motorola-IBM’s PowerPC-based architectures

→ s390

IBM’s ESA/390 and 32-bit zSeries architectures

→ s390x

IBM’s 64-bit zSeries architectures

→ sh

SuperH-based embedded computers

→ sparc

Sun’s SPARC architecture

→ sparc64

Sun’s Ultra-SPARC architecture

drivers

Device drivers

→ acorn

Acorn’s devices

→ acpi

Advanced Configuration Power Interface (a power management standard that provides more features than APM)

→ atm

Support for ATM network architecture

→ block

Block device drivers

→ paride

Support for accessing IDE devices from parallel port

→ bluetooth

Drivers for devices connected through the Bluetooth wireless protocol

→ cdrom

Proprietary CD-ROM devices (neither ATAPI nor SCSI)

→ char

Character device drivers

→ agp

Drivers for AGP video cards

→ drm

Driver that supports the Xfree86 Direct Rendering Infrastructure

→ drm-4.0

Another driver that supports the Xfree86 Direct Rendering Infrastructure

→ ftape

Tape-streaming devices

→ ip2

Computone Intelliport II multiport serial controllers

→ joystick

Joysticks

→ mwave

IBM’s Winmodem-like driver for Linux

→ pcmcia

Driver for PCMCIA serial device

→ rio

Driver for the Specialix Rio multiport serial card

→ dio

Hewlett-Packard’s HP300 DIO bus support

→ fc4

Fibre Channel devices

→ hotplug

Support for hotplugging of PCI devices

→ i2c

Driver for Philips’ I2C 2-wire bus

→ ide

Drivers for IDE disks

→ ieee1394

Driver for IEEE1394 high-speed serial bus

→ input

Input layer module for joysticks, keyboards, and mouses

→ isdn

ISDN devices

→ macintosh

Apple’s Macintosh devices

→ md

Layer for “multiple devices” (disk arrays and Logical Volume Manager)

→ media

Drivers for radio and video devices

→ message

High performance SCSI + LAN/Fibre Channel drivers

→ misc

Miscellaneous devices

→ mtd

Support for Memory Technology Devices (especially flash devices)

→ net

Network card devices

→ nubus

Apple’s Macintosh Nubus support

→ parport

Parallel port support

→ pci

PCI bus support

→ pcmcia

PCMCIA card support

→ pnp

Plug-and-play support

→ s390

IBM’s ESA/390 and zSeries device support

→ sbus

Sun’s SPARC SBus support

→ scsi

SCSI device drivers

→ sgi

Silicon Graphics’ devices

→ sound

Audio card devices

→ tc

Hewlett-Packard (formerly DEC) TURBOChannel bus support

→ telephony

Support for voice-over-IP devices

→ usb

Universal Serial Bus (USB) support

→ video

Video card devices

→ zorro

Amiga’s Zorro bus support

fs

Filesystems

→ adfs

Acorn Disc Filing System

→ affs

Amiga’s Fast File System (FFS)

→ autofs

Support for kernel-based filesystem automounter daemon

→ autofs4

Another version of support for kernel-based filesystem automounter daemon (Version 4)

→ bfs

SCO UnixWare Boot File System

→ coda

Coda network filesystem

→ cramfs

Data compressing filesystem for MTD devices

→ devfs

Device filesystem

→ devpts

Pseudoterminal support (Open Group’s Unix98 standard)

→ efs

SGI IRIX’s EFS filesystem

→ ext2

Linux native Ext2 filesystem

→ ext3

Linux native Ext3 filesystem

→ fat

Common code for FAT-based filesystems

→ freevxfs

Veritas VxFS filesystem used by SCO UnixWare

→ hfs

Apple’s Macintosh filesystem

→ hpfs

IBM’s OS/2 filesystem

→ inflate_fs

Layer for decompressing files in cramfs and iso9660 filesystems

→ intermezzo

InterMezzo high-availability distributed filesystem

→ isofs

ISO9660 filesystem (CD-ROM)

→ jbd

Journaling filesystem layer used by Ext3

→ jffs

Journaling filesystems for MTD devices

→ jffs2

Another journaling filesystems for MTD devices

→ lockd

Remote file locking support

→ minix

MINIX filesystem

→ msdos

Microsoft’s MS-DOS filesystem

→ ncpfs

Novell’s Netware Core Protocol (NCP)

→ nfs

Network File System (NFS)

→ nfsd

Integrated Network filesystem server

→ nls

Native Language Support

→ ntfs

Microsoft’s Windows NT filesystem

→ openpromfs

Special filesystem for SPARC’s OpenPROM device tree

→ partitions

Code for reading several disk partition formats

→ proc

/proc virtual filesystem

→ qnx4

Filesystem for QNX 4 OS

→ ramfs

Simple RAM filesystem

→ reiserfs

Reiser filesystem

→ romfs

Small read-only filesystem

→ smbfs

Microsoft’s Windows Server Message Block (SMB) filesystem

→ sysv

System V, SCO, Xenix, Coherent, and Version 7 filesystem

→ udf

Universal Disk Format filesystem (DVD)

→ ufs

Unix BSD, SunOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NeXTStep filesystem

→ umsdos

UMSDOS filesystem

→ vfat

Microsoft’s Windows filesystem (VFAT)

include

Header files (.h)

→ asm-generic

Platform-independent low-level header files

→ asm-i386

IBM’s PC architecture

→ asm-xxx

Header files for other architecture

→ linux

Kernel core

→ byteorder

Byte-swapping functions

→ isdn

ISDN functions

→ lockd

Remote file locking

→ mtd

MTD devices

→ netfilter_ipv4

Filtering for TCP/IPv4

→ netfilter_ipv6

Filtering for TCP/IPv6

→ nfsd

Integrated Network File Server

→ raid

RAID disks

→ sunrpc

Sun’s Remote Procedure Call

→ math-emu

Mathematical coprocessor emulation

→ net

Networking

→ pcmcia

PCMCIA support

→ scsi

SCSI support

→ video

Frame buffer support

init

Kernel initialization code

ipc

System V’s Interprocess Communication

kernel

Kernel core: processes, timing, program execution, signals, modules, etc.

lib

General-purpose kernel functions

mm

Memory handling

net

A bunch of networking protocols

scripts

External programs for building the kernel image