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I want to work with the Linux kernel, but I have no idea where to start. Is there a sort of ticketing system somewhere where bugs and such are distributed? Where can I get ideas for potentially useful contributions?

EDIT: Yes I know what I'm doing. I've been writing my own modifications for a good while now, and I'm doing an independent project under one of the operating systems researchers at my university next semester.

The reason I ask is I'd like to contribute my expertise to the dev process, and I don't know where to start in terms of organization. In terms of technical matters, I'm just about there.

alexgolec
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    Step (1): Understand enough about the kernel to recognize a problem with the current version... [Books for understanding linux kernel? ](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2353741/), [Can anyone recommend a good book on the linux kernel?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3778571/), [Learning Kernel Programming](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/914693/) and possibly other existing questions. – dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten Jan 01 '11 at 23:43
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    have you built your own kernel ever? – David Heffernan Jan 01 '11 at 23:48
  • try learning how the kernel works , you have a long way to go my friend – Saif al Harthi Jan 01 '11 at 23:53
  • While I certainly do have a long way to go, I've also already learned how the kernel works. – alexgolec Jan 01 '11 at 23:55
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    did you try a web search? Did you find this: http://ldn.linuxfoundation.org/how-participate-linux-community – David Heffernan Jan 02 '11 at 00:03

3 Answers3

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Start with these: Kernel Bugs involving typo. (Search everyday until you find something promising). Search that bug database with keywords like "comment", "typo", "documentation", "minor bug", etc. Also, search under the category Documentation here.

Learn the process first. Then, attempt to contribute something significant.

Sujith Surendranathan
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Pick a subsystem and subscribe to the relevant mailing list. Spend some time studying the subsystem. Start small and fix simple bugs then gradually do work of higher significance. You may want to look at the TODO files in the kernel source directory, especially for drivers in staging.

dmp
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Get a GIT tutorial. You may also watch this

dzendras
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