Understanding the Linux Kernel: The Linux Kernel Startup

Discussion (6 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews

jammcq•18 minutes ago

I'm really enjoying this article. Many years ago when I created LTSP I had to dive in and understand how the whole bzImage and initrd worked so we could fetch a kernel with tftp and mount a root filesystem via NFS. It's been years since I've played with this stuff but it's still very interesting to me. Thank you!

LPisGood•31 minutes ago

The AI image and immediate emoji bullet point really turn me off from investing in a 36 minute read from a blog started in late 2025.

gchamonlive•26 minutes ago

> That’s pretty much what the Linux kernel does at boot. The bootloader is the dropship. Your computer is the barren planet. The advance team is the execution of the startup code in the Linux kernel—the one we’ll be following the whole time. And by the end of this article, that advance team will literally have transformed itself into the standby maintenance crew while a brand-new civilian government takes over. Bear with me—it’ll make sense as we go.

Seems pretty good so far, but the article writes itself in the intro to be very basic, which is a good thing for me, never looked at how the Linux kernel actually boots, so I have only the basic understanding from college.

john_strinlai•26 minutes ago

i see one whole emoji on the entire page

LPisGood•24 minutes ago

You’re right, but it’s immediately right up top next to the em dashes.

john_strinlai•23 minutes ago

there is a certain irony in not being able to spend 5 seconds to verify your complaint, when your complaint is presumably about the author's lack of effort.

Understanding the Linux Kernel: The Linux Kernel Startup

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Discussion (6 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews