About Device Driver Programming And Socket Programming

Hi !!,
I have heard a lot about device driver programming. All I know is that to run a device like say, a printer or a webcam, there is a software that enables the operating system to communicate with the device. I would like to know how should i go about it.

Another thing i wanted to know about is Socket Programming. Where could i get more information on it in such a manner as to it could be understood by a newbie ?

Is there a future in programming for a non-computer science graduate ?

I would be extremely thankful if someone could answer my doubts .

>Is there a future in programming for a non-computer science graduate ? <

Well it really depends on how much you know. A lot of companies require a computer science degree, but if your absolutly fantastic at programming and really know your stuff, then of course there is.

Try a search on google for your other two questions....

How can device driver programming be made easier than on Linux!!! Here's a driver that will write to your video and say "Hello World!"

The Source:

#define MODULE
#include <linux/module.h>

int init_module(void)
{
printk("<1>Hello World!\n");
return 0;
}

void cleanup_module(void)
{
prink("<1>Goodbye Cuel World!\n");
}


Save as hello.c
At Your Root Prompt:

gcc -c hello.c
insmod hello.o

This Compiles and Loads It, Running init_module().
To Unload Your Module:

rmmod hello


Ta Da! The book: Linux Device Drivers by Alessandro Rubini, O'Reilly Press. Wonderful book. You'll be making USB programmable robots in no time. :)

Wow, that's one hell of a bump, mr. spambot.

Edit: Spambot bumped the topic, not me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Justin..W

How can device driver programming be made easier than on Linux!!!

---

Sure, but that is not device driver programming. That's just the "hello world" kernel module, used to introduce you to the kernel API, which you need in order to do device driver programming. I've done it a bit (a memory module and a thing for gleaning info from USB devices) and I will warn you now it is not at all easy or simple IMO. Also, there is not enough information to learn it on the web; you will need a book.

Finally, dealing with the actual hardware itself is a nightmare of guesswork. I set out to write a webcam driver and finally decided it was not worth the effort (especially after one turned up for the camera written by the kernel development team, and it still doesn't work). The "USB Device Class Definition for Video" is 140 pages of language independent specs (mostly data structures), and that is only the beginning. Almost torture.

However, if you want to see something simpler this is good:
Writing a Simple USB Driver

But for a beginner, I would strongly recommend investigating socket programming FIRST. ;)

Hi

I am working on device driver programming and i am new to this.
When i am writing a module i am able to register the device but if i want to print any thing on the screen it is not doing that.
So can any one suggest what modification i need to make to display msg on screen


Thanks