I am new to Linux and i need some help about patching the kernel,want to know what it is and why is it done.

If a new hardware(and its driver) is released by a manufacturer and suppose that hardware is not supported by my kernel. Will the problem be solved if the user downloads that driver and installs it??

How does a kernel developer solve this problem, say if he wants to include support for these new hardware(assuming he has their corresponding drivers).
Is this what happens in the new releases of the kernel?

Thanks in advance.

Drivers can be in one of two places: either in-kernel or out-of-kernel. Both ways work. In the first case, the driver is maintained by a Kernel maintainer and is included in the kernel sources. In the second, it is separately maintained and distributed.

Also, I'm moving this to the Kernel forum to get more specific exposure for your question.

Thanks for the reply, could you give me some more information about the in-kernel and out-of-kernel methods.
My project involved compiling drivers for Linux, i want to know about combining these object files with the kernel.

Seems you are at the start of a long trek.

Initially you should use a driver (kernel) module - once loaded, it is effectively a part of (an extension to) the kernel.
Makes testing (and acceptance) much easier.

Nothing gets into the mainstream kernel unless it is open source under the appropriate license.
And gets accepted by the relevant maintainer
And doesn't get killed off by the (other) kernel devs
And gets past Andrew
and Linus.

No doubt I've missed a few hurdles in there.

Look initially in your source tree - plenty of doco for aspiring kernel hackers.
Then maybe somewhere like kernelnewbies.

Thanks for the replies, let me be more specific about the problem,i have been working on a assignment which involved compilation of drivers to get a ".ko" object module.
Now how do i load this module into the kernel (i have to do this for more than 1 driver)?

Thanks once again.

I'd suggest you get a hold of Linux Device Drivers (Corbet et al) - I have version 3 which is for 2.6.
Second time I've recommended it in a couple of days.

I have a hard-copy, but I believe it's available for (free) download.