Retrieving, building, updating, and maintaining a Linux kernel source tree involves a lot of different steps, as this book shows. Being naturallylazycreatures,developers have created some programs to help with the various routine tasks. Here we describe a few of these useful tools and the basics on how to use them.
Linux kernel development differs in manyway s from traditional software development.
Some of the special demands on kernel programmers include:
• Constantly applying your changes to the moving target of a fast-based kernel development release schedule
• Resolving anymerge conflicts between changes you have made and changes made by other people
• Exporting your changes
