About

LKCAMP is a Linux Kernel study group open for everyone to participate.

The group was created by volunteers in the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), in Brazil, for people who want to become a Linux Kernel developer.

Many people either don’t know where to start, or start by sending a simple patch to the kernel (e.g. fixing a typo or a coding style) and then don’t know what to do next.

The idea of LKCAMP is to provide mentorship and support as a group until the participant is engaged in a more complex activity in the Linux Kernel community.

To attend this goal we divided the group in 3 main phases:

  • Phase 1) Learning the basis of the Linux Kernel development
  • Phase 2) Working on a specific project
  • Phase 3) Spreading the knowledge (pro level)

Please see the Documentation for more details on each phase.

The main resources for the group are:

How to get started

You can start by reading the Documentation which describes step by step all the activities.

Meetings

We are having weekly meetings. Each meeting is composed by a talk followed by a proposed activity for that meeting. The idea is to start hacking the Linux Kernel since the first meeting M1.

You can attend the meetings in person or remotely.

NOTE: even if you didn’t attend the meetings since day 1, you can still watch the recorded videos and do the proposed activities, you can do the activities in your own pace and we can help you through the mailing list and IRC channel (see Documentation).

See the Home page to check when and how to attend the meetings.

FAQ

Which are the requirements to participate?

You need a machine running Linux with sudo powers to be able to install a custom kernel.

It would also help you to have:

  • Notions of C programming language
  • Notions of GNU/Linux command line
  • Notions of data structures
  • Notions of operating systems

Don’t be afraid if you don’t have the knowledges above, you can learn in ad-hoc manner, we will be there to help with any questions, there are no stupid questions.

What is IRC? How can I connect to the chat room?

Read the [Documentation M1] (https://docs.lkcamp.dev/phase_1/M01/#irc-channels)

I don’t speak Portuguese, can I participate?

Yes, but it won’t be that easy, we are making an effort to add English subtitles to the videos, but we are volunteers and sometimes we don’t have time to do it. But you should be able to follow the group only using the [Documentation] (https://docs.lkcamp.dev), the [lkcamp@lists.libreplanetbr.org] (https://lists.libreplanetbr.org/mailman/listinfo/lkcamp) mailing list and the IRC channel #lkcamp @ Freenode.

NOTE: communication in the mailing list is usually in Portuguese, but feel free to post in English. Communication on IRC is usually in English.

My English is not good, can I still participate?

Sure, the Linux Kernel community is composed from people all over the world and we understand that English may not be your first language. If you make your self understandable, it is good enough, no one will judge you by your English.

What is M1, M2, M3… ?

M stands for Meeting (or Module). M1 is the first meeting, M2 the second meeting and so on. In the Documentation you will find a description of each meeting and the proposed activity.

I didn’t attend some of the meetings, can I still participate?

Of course, we understand that people have different backgrounds and can do the activities in the own pace. You can also participate asynchronously, use the mailing list and IRC channel to make questions, we are there to help.

When are you going to restart the meeting from M1?

We will probably do a second edition in August 2018, but nothing is confirmed.

How the remote participation works?

You first watch the talk for that specific meeting, then read the Documentation and try to do the proposed activity for that meeting, interacting with the group through IRC and the mailing list.