About This Book

Kernel and Subsystems Technical Reference, Volumes 1 and 2 provide information about kernel services, device driver operations, file system operations, subroutines, the configuration subsystem, the communications subsystem, the low function terminal (LFT) subsystem, the logical volume subsystem, the M-audio capture and playback adapter subsystem, the printer subsystem, the SCSI subsystem, and the serial DASD subsystem.

These two books are part of the six-volume technical reference set, AIX Version 4.3 Technical Reference, SBOF-1878, which provides information on system calls, kernel extension calls, and subroutines in the following volumes:

Kernel Extensions and Device Support Programming Concepts, a companion volume to this book, provides a conceptual introduction to the kernel programming environment and how to extend it.

Who Should Use This Book

Kernel and Subsystems Technical Reference, Volumes 1 and 2 are intended for system programmers wishing to extend the AIX kernel. To use this book effectively, you should be familiar with operating system concepts and kernel programming. To review this background, see Kernel Extensions and Device Support Programming Concepts.

How to Use This Book

Overview of Contents

Kernel and Subsystems, Volume 1 contains information needed to write kernel extensions. This includes:

Highlighting

The following highlighting conventions are used in this book:

Bold Identifies commands, subroutines, keywords, files, structures, directories, and other items whose names are predefined by the system. Also identifies graphical objects such as buttons, labels, and icons that the user selects.
Italics Identifies parameters whose actual names or values are to be supplied by the user.
Monospace Identifies examples of specific data values, examples of text similar to what you might see displayed, examples of portions of program code similar to what you might write as a programmer, messages from the system, or information you should actually type.

ISO 9000

ISO 9000 registered quality systems were used in the development and manufacturing of this product.

AIX 32-Bit Support for the X/Open UNIX95 Specification

Beginning with AIX Version 4.2, the operating system is designed to support the X/Open UNIX95 Specification for portability of UNIX-based operating systems. Many new interfaces, and some current ones, have been added or enhanced to meet this specification. Beginning with Version 4.2, AIX is even more open and portable for applications.

At the same time, compatibility with previous AIX releases is preserved. This is accomplished by the creation of a new environment variable, which can be used to set the system environment on a per-system, per-user, or per-process basis.

To determine the proper way to develop a UNIX95-portable application, you may need to refer to the X/Open UNIX95 Specification, which can be obtained on a CD-ROM by ordering the printed copy of AIX Version 4.3 Commands Reference, order number SBOF-1877, or by ordering Go Solo: How to Implement and Go Solo with the Single Unix Specification, order number SR28-5705, a book which includes the X/Open UNIX95 Specification on a CD-ROM.

AIX 32-Bit and 64-Bit Support for the UNIX98 Specification

Beginning with AIX Version 4.3, the operating system is designed to support the X/Open UNIX98 Specification for portability of UNIX-based operating systems. Many new interfaces, and some current ones, have been added or enhanced to meet this specification. Making AIX Version 4.3 even more open and portable for applications.

At the same time, compatibility with previous AIX releases is preserved. This is accomplished by the creation of a new environment variable, which can be used to set the system environment on a per-system, per-user, or per-process basis.

To determine the proper way to develop a UNIX98-portable application, you may need to refer to the X/Open UNIX98 Specification, which can be obtained on a CD-ROM by ordering the printed copy of AIX Version 4.3 Commands Reference, order number SBOF-1877, or by ordering Go Solo: How to Implement and Go Solo with the Single Unix Specification, order number SR28-5705, a book which includes the X/Open UNIX98 Specification on a CD-ROM.

Related Publications

The following books contain information on device drivers and other kernel extensions:

Ordering Publications

You can order publications from your sales representative or from your point of sale.

If you received a printed copy of Documentation Overview with your system, use that book for information on related publications and for instructions on ordering them.

To order additional copies, use the following order numbers:

To order additional copies of the six-volume set, order AIX Version 4.3 Technical Reference, Order Number SBOF-1878.