The Linux 4.9.60 stable release was published on November 2, 2017, introducing 24 fixes and improvements across 64,224 lines of code changes compared to the 4.9 baseline. This point release addresses critical security vulnerabilities, buffer overrun issues, and device driver fixes that affected several subsystems. You can find the source code in the linux-stable tree…
This document preserves the original release notes for Linux kernel v0.97, an early milestone in kernel development that demonstrates the rapid evolution of core subsystems in the 1990s. The content below has been reformatted from the original ASCII release notes for readability while maintaining historical accuracy. Changes in 0.97 Display and graphics support VESA support…
The Linux kernel includes a USB host controller driver for the Maxim MAX3421E chip, which implements a USB 2.0 full-speed and low-speed host controller over SPI. This was introduced in commit 2d53139 by David Mosberger-Tang and is maintained in the kernel’s USB subsystem. Overview The MAX3421E is a specialized chip that allows SPI-connected systems to…
By default, make executes the first target it encounters in your Makefile. This works fine for simple projects, but as Makefiles grow and you have multiple build configurations, deployment targets, and test suites, you’ll need explicit control over which target runs by default. The .DEFAULT_GOAL Variable The cleanest way to change the default target is…
If you’re getting this error when running bibtex on your auxiliary file, it typically means your document has no citations, even though BibTeX is being invoked: This is BibTeX, Version 0.99d (TeX Live 2015/Debian) The top-level auxiliary file: main.aux The style file: latex8.bst I found no citation commands—while reading file main.aux (There was 1 error…
PARSEC is a widely-used CPU-bound benchmark suite containing real applications and complex third-party library dependencies. The installation can be challenging due to these external requirements, but following this guide will get you up and running. Prerequisites Before starting, install the required build tools and libraries: sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config gettext autoconf…
When you’re working in a Makefile, you often need to reference files relative to where the Makefile itself is located. This is especially useful for multi-directory projects or when your build system needs to know its own location. The Solution Make provides the MAKEFILE_LIST variable, which contains the names of all makefiles that have been…
When running make recursively with $(MAKE) or make -C, you’ll see verbose messages like “Entering directory” and “Leaving directory” for each subdirectory. These messages clutter the build output and make it harder to spot actual errors. The Quick Fix Pass –no-print-directory to make: make –no-print-directory Or set it in your Makefile: .MAKEFLAGS: –no-print-directory Suppressing via…
Eclipse CDT has evolved to handle CMake projects effectively. The key is understanding which approach fits your workflow — native CMake integration (recommended for 2023+ versions) or generating build files. Native CMake Integration (Recommended) Eclipse CDT 2023 and later include robust native CMake support. This is the simplest approach for new projects or when you…
The @ symbol in Makefiles suppresses the echo of the command itself before execution. When you run a target, make normally prints each command to stdout before running it. Adding @ before a command hides that echo, showing only the command’s output. Basic example Without @: all: echo “For correctness test of basic get and…
When you have shared Makefiles included across multiple projects in different directory structures, relative includes break. If common.mk tries to include release.mk and both files are in a subdirectory like external/, the include fails because Make uses the current working directory, not the location of the including file. For example, this structure works fine: Makefile…
The –no-print-directory flag suppresses make’s default behavior of printing messages when entering and leaving subdirectories. If you invoke make frequently with recursive calls or have a deeply nested project structure, these messages clutter your output. Rather than passing the flag on every invocation, you can set it once in your Makefile. Add this line near…
Fedora uses RPM packages managed by DNF, but you’ll occasionally encounter software distributed only as .deb files (Debian format). You have several options: convert the .deb to RPM, extract and repackage it, or use containerization. Here’s what works in practice. Using alien to convert .deb to RPM The simplest approach is alien, a tool designed…
LaTeX is a document preparation system widely used for scientific and technical documents. Most modern workflows use pdflatex or xelatex to compile directly to PDF, avoiding the outdated DVI → PostScript → PDF pipeline. Debian/Ubuntu sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra texlive-fonts-recommended For a complete installation with all packages: sudo apt-get install texlive-full…
Before writing code, get comfortable with fundamental Linux commands. You’ll use these daily: File operations: ls, cd, cat, less Text search: grep, ripgrep (rg) Remote access: ssh, scp, rsync Session management: tmux or screen for persistent terminal sessions Shell: bash (default on most distributions), though zsh and fish are popular alternatives Start with built-in documentation….
Watching for filesystem changes and triggering actions is essential for development workflows—recompiling after source edits, restarting services when configs update, or running tests during coding. Linux’s inotify subsystem provides kernel-level file monitoring, and inotifywait makes it accessible from the command line. Installation Install inotify-tools on your system: Fedora/RHEL/CentOS: sudo dnf install inotify-tools Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt…
Make is a build automation tool that reads configuration files (makefiles) to compile programs and manage project workflows. It’s been a standard in Unix/Linux development for decades and remains essential for managing builds where dependencies matter. Make works by defining targets and their dependencies, then specifying commands to build each target. When you run make,…
Compiling LaTeX documents with BibTeX involves multiple passes—typically three runs of latex followed by one bibtex run to resolve citations. This sequence is identical across most documents, making it perfect for automation with a Makefile. Basic Makefile Template Here’s a practical Makefile for LaTeX with BibTeX support: FILENAME = main LATEX = pdflatex BIBTEX =…