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Linux Kernel Explorer

reverser.dev

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Re: Linux Kernel Explorer

#71

Post by xxdd2ea »

glenneroo wrote: post #40
xxdd2ea wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it's good idea and nicely executed. For the same reason I created a couple of projects with the same goal of lowering the barrier to entry to the linux kernel: - an app to follow the UDP packet flow in the linux kernel source code: https://dmkskd.github.io/linux-kernel-network-stack-visualiz... - a (hopefully) simple way to play with the linux kernel source code on a mac: https://github.com/dmkskd/linux-kernel-de…

I love your UDP packet flow tool, kudos for making that! I've always wondered how packets move through an OS. Also interesting how many gotos I see all over the place, even though everyone says "goto is the devil". Then again maybe this code was written long before that "proverb" came into existence.

Thanks! I suggest to have a look at a 'live' debugger session video here: https://github.com/dmkskd/linux-kernel-debugging-on-mac?tab=... given your interest

if you have an ARM64 mac (sorry for only supporting this OS at the moment) it should be easy to set this up on your end

Re: Linux Kernel Explorer

#73

Post by xeonmc »

synergy20 wrote: post #70

I must be missing something, we had kernel source browsing online for years, e.g. https://elixir.bootlin.com/linux/v6.17.9/source/fs , this is another one, what extra features it provides. in fact the bootlin one provides some search functions but I did not spot that here. I was expecting some LLM explanation for the code, or dependency graphs etc in the AI era for a new kernel navigator...

You: “Wow, we are surely in the golden age of AI! I can’t wait to see LLM-guided explanations for the code or a new kernel dependency navigator powered by AI…”

The AI Era: “Meh, best I could do is AI rehashes of the same old functionality in a different web framework.”

Re: Linux Kernel Explorer

#74

Post by dmezzetti »

reverserdev wrote: post #69
dmezzetti wrote: post #49

Very interesting! I was kind of expecting that this was going to use LLMs / coding agents to explain the kernel as you stepped through it. But this is a nice app.

I am considering more dynamic "tutors", since this rudimentary version got so much attention! :) What do you have in mind when you say "step through" the code? Like follow your scrolling of the source code?

Something as simple as an LLM prompt that explains what the file does would go a long way I think.

Re: Linux Kernel Explorer

#75

Post by bakugo »

reverserdev wrote: post #68
bakugo wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The very first sentence of the guide is "It's not X—it's Y. It does Z". Safe to assume the entire thing is AI generated.

Can you please elaborate what exactly is the problem with the first sentence? "The kernel isn't a process—it's the system. It serves user processes, reacts to context, and enforces separation and control." This is actually based on "The Kernel in The Mind" by Moon Hee Lee. You are welcome to provide feedback.

Is it or is it not AI generated? That's all I said, and you didn't deny it.

Re: Linux Kernel Explorer

#77

Post by foota »

rbanffy wrote: post #28
reverserdev wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey! Thank you for catching this issue and reminding me of the super naive implementation I went with. I will improve this! :)

It’s often better to overlay caching and other tricks on top of naive implementations than making the implementation more complicated.

* until you get caching layers more complicated than the more complicated implementations :) Imo strong implementations can be much simpler and more predictable than caching.

Re: Linux Kernel Explorer

#78

Post by soraminazuki »

loeg wrote: post #67
notachatbot123 wrote: post #35

Were the quiz questions generated by a human or AI?

In particular, one of the first questions is "What is the fundamental difference between the kernel and a process?" It rejects "The kernel is a special process with elevated privileges" (which is essentially correct) and prefers "The kernel is not a process—it's the system itself that serves processes," which is sort of wrong? The kernel represents itself as a process (process zero), because kernel threads also need…

> The kernel represents itself as a process (process zero)

This isn't true of any modern operating system. Kernel code isn't confined to a single process or even a limited number of processes. Transitioning to kernel mode doesn't necessitate switching to a dedicated process. Prior to the emergence of CPU speculative execution vulnerabilities, it was common for kernel code to be mapped directly into the virtual address spaces of userspace processes.

PID 0 is merely an implementation detail of the scheduler shared among many Unices. It doesn't function like a normal process, nor is it an accurate representation of how the large part of the kernel operates.

Re: Linux Kernel Explorer

#79

Post by stevenhuang »

loeg wrote: post #67
notachatbot123 wrote: post #35

Were the quiz questions generated by a human or AI?

In particular, one of the first questions is "What is the fundamental difference between the kernel and a process?" It rejects "The kernel is a special process with elevated privileges" (which is essentially correct) and prefers "The kernel is not a process—it's the system itself that serves processes," which is sort of wrong? The kernel represents itself as a process (process zero), because kernel threads also need…

Also in Chapter 6 1. What is the relationship between CPU state and kernel state?, it prefers "CPU is stateless; kernel manages state" instead of "They share state equally". I also wouldn't divide it down as "equally" as the kernel manages much more state, but CPUs have registers and cache lines so I wouldn't say they're stateless either.

Re: Linux Kernel Explorer

#80

Post by soraminazuki »

bakugo wrote: post #75
reverserdev wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you please elaborate what exactly is the problem with the first sentence? "The kernel isn't a process—it's the system. It serves user processes, reacts to context, and enforces separation and control." This is actually based on "The Kernel in The Mind" by Moon Hee Lee. You are welcome to provide feedback.

Is it or is it not AI generated? That's all I said, and you didn't deny it.

Calm down. You had the answer served on a platter.

From "The Kernel in the Mind":

> The Kernel Is Not a Process. It Is the System.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/kernel-mind-moon-hee-lee-miwz...

It's X but Y came from elsewhere.

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