“Probably the most wide ranging and complete Linux device driver book I’ve read.”

--Alan Cox, Linux Guru and Key Kernel Developer

“Very comprehensive and detailed, covering almost every single Linux device driver type.”

--Theodore Ts’o, First Linux Kernel Developer in North America and Chief Platform Strategist of the Linux Foundation

The Most Practical Guide to Writing Linux Device Drivers

Linux now offers an exceptionally robust environment for driver development: with today’s kernels, what once required years of development time can be accomplished in days. In this practical, example-driven book, one of the world’s most experienced Linux driver developers systematically demonstrates how to develop reliable Linux drivers for virtually any device. Essential Linux Device Drivers is for any programmer with a working knowledge of operating systems and C, including programmers who have never written drivers before. Sreekrishnan Venkateswaran focuses on the essentials, bringing together all the concepts and techniques you need, while avoiding topics that only matter in highly specialized situations. Venkateswaran begins by reviewing the Linux 2.6 kernel capabilities that are most relevant to driver developers. He introduces simple device classes; then turns to serial buses such as I2C and SPI; external buses such as PCMCIA, PCI, and USB; video, audio, block, network, and wireless device drivers; user-space drivers; and drivers for embedded Linux–one of today’s fastest growing areas of Linux development. For each, Venkateswaran explains the technology, inspects relevant kernel source files, and walks through developing a complete example.

• Addresses drivers discussed in no other book, including drivers for I2C, video, sound, PCMCIA, and different types of flash memory

• Demystifies essential kernel services and facilities, including kernel threads and helper interfaces

• Teaches polling, asynchronous notification, and I/O control

• Introduces the Inter-Integrated Circuit Protocol for embedded Linux drivers

• Covers multimedia device drivers using the Linux-Video subsystem and Linux-Audio framework

• Shows how Linux implements support for wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, Infrared, WiFi, and cellular networking

• Describes the entire driver development lifecycle, through debugging and maintenance

• Includes reference appendixes covering Linux assembly, BIOS calls, and Seq files

"可能是我读过的范围最广、最完整的Linux设备驱动书"。

--Alan Cox，Linux大师和关键内核开发者

"非常全面和详细，几乎涵盖了所有的Linux设备驱动类型。"

--Theodore Ts'o，北美第一个Linux内核开发者和Linux基金会的首席平台战略家

编写Linux设备驱动程序的最实用指南

现在，Linux为驱动开发提供了一个异常强大的环境：利用今天的内核，曾经需要数年开发时间的事情可以在几天内完成。在这本实用的、以实例为导向的书中，世界上最有经验的Linux驱动开发者之一系统地演示了如何为几乎所有设备开发可靠的Linux驱动。Essential Linux Device Drivers》适用于任何具有操作系统和C语言工作知识的程序员，包括从未编写过驱动程序的程序员。Sreekrishnan Venkateswaran把重点放在精华部分，汇集了你所需要的所有概念和技术，同时避免了那些只在高度专业化情况下才有意义的话题。Venkateswaran首先回顾了与驱动程序开发人员最相关的Linux 2.6内核功能。他介绍了简单的设备类；然后转向串行总线，如I2C和SPI；外部总线，如PCMCIA、PCI和USB；视频、音频、块、网络和无线设备驱动；用户空间驱动；以及嵌入式Linux的驱动--这是当今Linux开发中增长最快的领域。对于每一个驱动，Venkateswaran都解释了技术，检查了相关的内核源文件，并指导开发一个完整的例子。

- 讨论了其他书中没有讨论过的驱动程序，包括I2C、视频、声音、PCMCIA和不同类型闪存的驱动程序。

- 揭开了基本内核服务和设施的神秘面纱，包括内核线程和辅助接口

- 讲授轮询、异步通知和I/O控制

- 介绍嵌入式Linux驱动程序的互连电路协议

- 涵盖了使用Linux-视频子系统和Linux-音频框架的多媒体设备驱动程序

- 展示Linux如何实现对蓝牙、红外、WiFi和蜂窝网络等无线技术的支持

- 描述了整个驱动程序的开发周期，包括调试和维护。

- 包括涵盖Linux汇编、BIOS调用和Seq文件的参考附录