14.1. Common Pitfalls

efore I send you on your way to go out into the world and write kernel modules, there are a few things I need to warn you about. If I fail to warn you and something bad happens, please report the problem to me for a full refund of the amount I was paid for your copy of the book.

Using standard libraries

You can't do that. In a kernel module you can only use kernel functions, which are the functions you can see in /proc/ksyms.

Disabling interrupts

You might need to do this for a short time and that is OK, but if you don't enable them afterwards, your system will be stuck and you'll have to power it off.

Sticking your head inside a large carnivore

I probably don't have to warn you about this, but I figured I will anyway, just in case.