blob: 2a39aeba1464b8f66ed9cfe1dc7f20d40bbeb15f [file] [log] [blame]
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -07001
2This is a brief list of all the files in ./linux/Documentation and what
3they contain. If you add a documentation file, please list it here in
4alphabetical order as well, or risk being hunted down like a rabid dog.
5Please try and keep the descriptions small enough to fit on one line.
6 Thanks -- Paul G.
7
8Following translations are available on the WWW:
9
10 - Japanese, maintained by the JF Project (JF@linux.or.jp), at
11 http://www.linux.or.jp/JF/
12
1300-INDEX
14 - this file.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070015ABI/
16 - info on kernel <-> userspace ABI and relative interface stability.
Len Brownb4d27302007-11-14 19:53:21 -050017
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070018BUG-HUNTING
19 - brute force method of doing binary search of patches to find bug.
20Changes
21 - list of changes that break older software packages.
22CodingStyle
23 - how the boss likes the C code in the kernel to look.
Jonathan Corbet75b02142008-09-30 15:15:56 -060024development-process/
25 - An extended tutorial on how to work with the kernel development
26 process.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070027DMA-API.txt
28 - DMA API, pci_ API & extensions for non-consistent memory machines.
Rob Landley5ef43562007-10-16 23:31:25 -070029DMA-ISA-LPC.txt
30 - How to do DMA with ISA (and LPC) devices.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070031DocBook/
32 - directory with DocBook templates etc. for kernel documentation.
Greg Kroah-Hartmand36cc9d2005-11-18 09:31:11 -080033HOWTO
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070034 - the process and procedures of how to do Linux kernel development.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070035IO-mapping.txt
36 - how to access I/O mapped memory from within device drivers.
37IPMI.txt
38 - info on Linux Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Driver.
39IRQ-affinity.txt
40 - how to select which CPU(s) handle which interrupt events on SMP.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070041IRQ.txt
42 - description of what an IRQ is.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070043ManagementStyle
44 - how to (attempt to) manage kernel hackers.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070045RCU/
46 - directory with info on RCU (read-copy update).
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070047SAK.txt
48 - info on Secure Attention Keys.
Rob Landley5ef43562007-10-16 23:31:25 -070049SM501.txt
50 - Silicon Motion SM501 multimedia companion chip
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070051SecurityBugs
52 - procedure for reporting security bugs found in the kernel.
53SubmitChecklist
54 - Linux kernel patch submission checklist.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070055SubmittingDrivers
56 - procedure to get a new driver source included into the kernel tree.
57SubmittingPatches
58 - procedure to get a source patch included into the kernel tree.
59VGA-softcursor.txt
60 - how to change your VGA cursor from a blinking underscore.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070061accounting/
62 - documentation on accounting and taskstats.
Len Brownb4d27302007-11-14 19:53:21 -050063acpi/
64 - info on ACPI-specific hooks in the kernel.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070065aoe/
66 - description of AoE (ATA over Ethernet) along with config examples.
Jesper Juhl754c7972005-09-09 13:10:12 -070067applying-patches.txt
68 - description of various trees and how to apply their patches.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070069arm/
70 - directory with info about Linux on the ARM architecture.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070071atomic_ops.txt
72 - semantics and behavior of atomic and bitmask operations.
73auxdisplay/
74 - misc. LCD driver documentation (cfag12864b, ks0108).
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070075basic_profiling.txt
76 - basic instructions for those who wants to profile Linux kernel.
77binfmt_misc.txt
78 - info on the kernel support for extra binary formats.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070079blackfin/
80 - directory with documentation for the Blackfin arch.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070081block/
82 - info on the Block I/O (BIO) layer.
Randy Dunlap31c00fc2008-11-13 21:33:24 +000083blockdev/
84 - info on block devices & drivers
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070085cachetlb.txt
86 - describes the cache/TLB flushing interfaces Linux uses.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070087cdrom/
88 - directory with information on the CD-ROM drivers that Linux has.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070089connector/
90 - docs on the netlink based userspace<->kernel space communication mod.
91console/
92 - documentation on Linux console drivers.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070093cpu-freq/
94 - info on CPU frequency and voltage scaling.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -070095cpu-hotplug.txt
96 - document describing CPU hotplug support in the Linux kernel.
97cpu-load.txt
98 - document describing how CPU load statistics are collected.
Venkatesh Pallipadife8e2882008-02-14 00:16:13 -050099cpuidle/
100 - info on CPU_IDLE, CPU idle state management subsystem.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700101cpusets.txt
102 - documents the cpusets feature; assign CPUs and Mem to a set of tasks.
103cputopology.txt
104 - documentation on how CPU topology info is exported via sysfs.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700105cris/
106 - directory with info about Linux on CRIS architecture.
107crypto/
108 - directory with info on the Crypto API.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700109dcdbas.txt
110 - information on the Dell Systems Management Base Driver.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700111debugging-modules.txt
112 - some notes on debugging modules after Linux 2.6.3.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700113dell_rbu.txt
114 - document demonstrating the use of the Dell Remote BIOS Update driver.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700115device-mapper/
116 - directory with info on Device Mapper.
117devices.txt
118 - plain ASCII listing of all the nodes in /dev/ with major minor #'s.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700119dontdiff
120 - file containing a list of files that should never be diff'ed.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700121driver-model/
122 - directory with info about Linux driver model.
123dvb/
124 - info on Linux Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) subsystem.
125early-userspace/
126 - info about initramfs, klibc, and userspace early during boot.
Adrian Bunk4a6b88c2008-02-07 00:13:33 -0800127edac.txt
128 - information on EDAC - Error Detection And Correction
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700129eisa.txt
130 - info on EISA bus support.
131exception.txt
132 - how Linux v2.2 handles exceptions without verify_area etc.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700133fault-injection/
134 - dir with docs about the fault injection capabilities infrastructure.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700135fb/
136 - directory with info on the frame buffer graphics abstraction layer.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700137feature-removal-schedule.txt
138 - list of files and features that are going to be removed.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700139filesystems/
J. Bruce Fields4f3b19c2007-09-24 18:52:09 -0400140 - info on the vfs and the various filesystems that Linux supports.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700141firmware_class/
142 - request_firmware() hotplug interface info.
Adrian Bunk0868ff72008-02-03 15:54:28 +0200143frv/
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700144 - Fujitsu FR-V Linux documentation.
145gpio.txt
146 - overview of GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) access conventions.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700147highuid.txt
148 - notes on the change from 16 bit to 32 bit user/group IDs.
Thomas Gleixner3833eec2008-03-05 18:28:15 +0100149timers/
150 - info on the timer related topics
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700151hw_random.txt
152 - info on Linux support for random number generator in i8xx chipsets.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700153hwmon/
154 - directory with docs on various hardware monitoring drivers.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700155i2c/
156 - directory with info about the I2C bus/protocol (2 wire, kHz speed).
157i2o/
158 - directory with info about the Linux I2O subsystem.
Uwe Hermann71cced62008-10-20 09:32:21 -0700159x86/i386/
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700160 - directory with info about Linux on Intel 32 bit architecture.
161ia64/
162 - directory with info about Linux on Intel 64 bit architecture.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700163infiniband/
164 - directory with documents concerning Linux InfiniBand support.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700165initrd.txt
166 - how to use the RAM disk as an initial/temporary root filesystem.
167input/
168 - info on Linux input device support.
169io_ordering.txt
170 - info on ordering I/O writes to memory-mapped addresses.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700171ioctl/
172 - directory with documents describing various IOCTL calls.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700173iostats.txt
174 - info on I/O statistics Linux kernel provides.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700175irqflags-tracing.txt
176 - how to use the irq-flags tracing feature.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700177isapnp.txt
178 - info on Linux ISA Plug & Play support.
179isdn/
180 - directory with info on the Linux ISDN support, and supported cards.
181java.txt
182 - info on the in-kernel binary support for Java(tm).
183kbuild/
184 - directory with info about the kernel build process.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700185kdump/
186 - directory with mini HowTo on getting the crash dump code to work.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700187kernel-doc-nano-HOWTO.txt
188 - mini HowTo on generation and location of kernel documentation files.
189kernel-docs.txt
190 - listing of various WWW + books that document kernel internals.
191kernel-parameters.txt
192 - summary listing of command line / boot prompt args for the kernel.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700193keys-request-key.txt
194 - description of the kernel key request service.
195keys.txt
196 - description of the kernel key retention service.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700197kobject.txt
198 - info of the kobject infrastructure of the Linux kernel.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700199kprobes.txt
200 - documents the kernel probes debugging feature.
201kref.txt
202 - docs on adding reference counters (krefs) to kernel objects.
Carlos Corbachod6ff3652008-02-09 01:32:03 +0000203laptops/
204 - directory with laptop related info and laptop driver documentation.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700205ldm.txt
206 - a brief description of LDM (Windows Dynamic Disks).
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700207leds-class.txt
208 - documents LED handling under Linux.
209local_ops.txt
210 - semantics and behavior of local atomic operations.
211lockdep-design.txt
212 - documentation on the runtime locking correctness validator.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700213logo.gif
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700214 - full colour GIF image of Linux logo (penguin - Tux).
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700215logo.txt
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700216 - info on creator of above logo & site to get additional images from.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700217m68k/
218 - directory with info about Linux on Motorola 68k architecture.
219magic-number.txt
220 - list of magic numbers used to mark/protect kernel data structures.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700221mca.txt
222 - info on supporting Micro Channel Architecture (e.g. PS/2) systems.
223md.txt
224 - info on boot arguments for the multiple devices driver.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700225memory-barriers.txt
226 - info on Linux kernel memory barriers.
Rob Landley5ef43562007-10-16 23:31:25 -0700227memory-hotplug.txt
228 - Hotpluggable memory support, how to use and current status.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700229memory.txt
230 - info on typical Linux memory problems.
231mips/
232 - directory with info about Linux on MIPS architecture.
233mono.txt
234 - how to execute Mono-based .NET binaries with the help of BINFMT_MISC.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700235mutex-design.txt
236 - info on the generic mutex subsystem.
Pavel Emelyanov2868f892007-11-28 16:21:39 -0800237namespaces/
238 - directory with various information about namespaces
Paul Moore8802f612006-08-03 16:45:49 -0700239netlabel/
240 - directory with information on the NetLabel subsystem.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700241networking/
242 - directory with info on various aspects of networking with Linux.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700243nmi_watchdog.txt
244 - info on NMI watchdog for SMP systems.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700245nommu-mmap.txt
246 - documentation about no-mmu memory mapping support.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700247numastat.txt
248 - info on how to read Numa policy hit/miss statistics in sysfs.
249oops-tracing.txt
250 - how to decode those nasty internal kernel error dump messages.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700251parisc/
252 - directory with info on using Linux on PA-RISC architecture.
253parport.txt
254 - how to use the parallel-port driver.
255parport-lowlevel.txt
256 - description and usage of the low level parallel port functions.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700257pcmcia/
258 - info on the Linux PCMCIA driver.
259pi-futex.txt
260 - documentation on lightweight PI-futexes.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700261pnp.txt
262 - Linux Plug and Play documentation.
263power/
264 - directory with info on Linux PCI power management.
265powerpc/
266 - directory with info on using Linux with the PowerPC.
267preempt-locking.txt
268 - info on locking under a preemptive kernel.
Randy Dunlapb67ad182008-11-12 13:26:55 -0800269printk-formats.txt
270 - how to get printk format specifiers right
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700271prio_tree.txt
272 - info on radix-priority-search-tree use for indexing vmas.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700273rbtree.txt
274 - info on what red-black trees are and what they are for.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700275robust-futex-ABI.txt
276 - documentation of the robust futex ABI.
277robust-futexes.txt
278 - a description of what robust futexes are.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700279rt-mutex-design.txt
280 - description of the RealTime mutex implementation design.
281rt-mutex.txt
282 - desc. of RT-mutex subsystem with PI (Priority Inheritance) support.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700283rtc.txt
284 - notes on how to use the Real Time Clock (aka CMOS clock) driver.
285s390/
286 - directory with info on using Linux on the IBM S390.
J. Bruce Fields9b8eae72008-02-07 00:13:37 -0800287scheduler/
288 - directory with info on the scheduler.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700289scsi/
290 - directory with info on Linux scsi support.
291serial/
292 - directory with info on the low level serial API.
293serial-console.txt
294 - how to set up Linux with a serial line console as the default.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700295sgi-ioc4.txt
296 - description of the SGI IOC4 PCI (multi function) device.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700297sgi-visws.txt
298 - short blurb on the SGI Visual Workstations.
299sh/
300 - directory with info on porting Linux to a new architecture.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700301sound/
302 - directory with info on sound card support.
303sparc/
304 - directory with info on using Linux on Sparc architecture.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700305sparse.txt
306 - info on how to obtain and use the sparse tool for typechecking.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700307spi/
308 - overview of Linux kernel Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) support.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700309spinlocks.txt
310 - info on using spinlocks to provide exclusive access in kernel.
Greg Kroah-Hartman8907e942005-11-18 09:31:15 -0800311stable_api_nonsense.txt
312 - info on why the kernel does not have a stable in-kernel api or abi.
313stable_kernel_rules.txt
314 - rules and procedures for the -stable kernel releases.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700315svga.txt
316 - short guide on selecting video modes at boot via VGA BIOS.
Rob Landley5ef43562007-10-16 23:31:25 -0700317sysfs-rules.txt
318 - How not to use sysfs.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700319sysctl/
320 - directory with info on the /proc/sys/* files.
321sysrq.txt
322 - info on the magic SysRq key.
323telephony/
324 - directory with info on telephony (e.g. voice over IP) support.
325time_interpolators.txt
326 - info on time interpolators.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700327uml/
Tobias Klauserd533f672005-09-10 00:26:46 -0700328 - directory with information about User Mode Linux.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700329unicode.txt
330 - info on the Unicode character/font mapping used in Linux.
331unshare.txt
332 - description of the Linux unshare system call.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700333usb/
334 - directory with info regarding the Universal Serial Bus.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700335video-output.txt
336 - sysfs class driver interface to enable/disable a video output device.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700337video4linux/
338 - directory with info regarding video/TV/radio cards and linux.
339vm/
340 - directory with info on the Linux vm code.
Rob Landley5ef43562007-10-16 23:31:25 -0700341volatile-considered-harmful.txt
342 - Why the "volatile" type class should not be used
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700343voyager.txt
344 - guide to running Linux on the Voyager architecture.
Jesper Juhlf6b07d32007-07-15 23:41:41 -0700345w1/
346 - directory with documents regarding the 1-wire (w1) subsystem.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700347watchdog/
348 - how to auto-reboot Linux if it has "fallen and can't get up". ;-)
Uwe Hermann71cced62008-10-20 09:32:21 -0700349x86/x86_64/
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700350 - directory with info on Linux support for AMD x86-64 (Hammer) machines.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700351zorro.txt
352 - info on writing drivers for Zorro bus devices found on Amigas.