In this chapter, you first learned how to obtain for yourself a Linux kernel source tree. You then understood its release (or version) nomenclature, the various types of Linux kernels (-next trees, -rc/mainline trees, stable, LTS, SLTS and distributions), and the basic kernel development workflow. Along the way, you even got a quick tour of the kernel source tree so that its layout is clearer. Next, you saw how to extract the compressed kernel source tree to disk and, critically, how to configure the kernel – a key step in the process. Furthermore, you learned how to customize the kernel menu, adding your own entries to it, and a bit about the kbuild system and the associated Kconfig files it uses, among others.
Knowing how to fetch and configure the Linux kernel is a useful skill to possess. We have just begun this long and exciting journey. You will realize that with more experience and knowledge of kernel internals, drivers, and the target system hardware, your...
