lfs-book/appendixa/kernel-desc.xml

<sect2><title>Contents of Linux</title>

<para>Last checked against version &kernel-contversion;.</para>

<sect3><title>Support Files</title>
<para>The linux kernel and the linux kernel headers</para></sect3>

<sect3><title>Descriptions</title>

<sect4><title>linux kernel</title>
<para>The Linux kernel is at the core of every Linux system. It's what makes
Linux tick. When a computer is turned on and boots a Linux system, the
very first piece of Linux software that gets loaded is the kernel. The
kernel initializes the system's hardware components such as serial
ports, parallel ports, sound cards, network cards, IDE controllers, SCSI
controllers and a lot more. In a nutshell the kernel makes the hardware
available so that the software can run.</para></sect4>

<sect4><title>linux kernel headers</title>
<para>These are the files we copy to /usr/include/{linux,asm} in chapter
5.  They should match those which glibc was compiled against and so
should <emphasis>not</emphasis> be replaced when upgrading the kernel.
They are essential for compiling many programs.</para></sect4>

</sect3>

</sect2>