C or C++ for Linux kernel Programming
 

Hi All,

I am new to linux kernel programming. I need to implement some OS kernel bases code. I want to know which one to choose for the programming C or C++. I am inclined to use C++ as this give me code more modularity and OOPs concepts.

Is all the libraries of kernel also available in C++?

Can some one suggest some IDE for this ?

Thanks

you can use C++ if you cut it back to the basic
so freaky dirived and virtual classes and stuff
because all that will have a speed inpact and maybe generate incompatable code
C would be more suited but C++ is fine AFAIK

I am not concerned about the speed the main thing is that how easy is to code on C++

coding is always alittle on the harder side in the kernel
i know because the tweeked the $h!t out of the linux kernel
and i am writing my own kernel

Is this same for C and C++ both?
Can I do one thing write some code in C and some in C++?

yes
you just dont quite as many services and functions as in user mode

You cannot use any libraries in the kernel, period. None are supported.

You can use C++ if you wish, but you have to make sure your bindings to the kernel are C style because that is what the kernel is written in.

Normally I handle this type of issue by running through some C stubs that are compiled with gcc and that call my C++. Of course, normally I do all my kernel work in C.

NO!

You cannot use C++ in the linux kernel without a lot of work, and frankly that work doesn't reward with much benefit.
C++ implicitly looks for certain bindings to be available. From casts to constructors, C++ just isn't designed to be a kernel language. There's a famous example somewhere of an attempt to do it, but it was really cumbersome and never went anywhere, IIRC.

Once you are ready to write kernel code, you will know the answer to this question. Virtually none of the Linux kernel is written in C++, because the programming style is very low-level, almost like assembly.

And your question about availability of kernel libraries "also" in C++ speaks volumes. Programs written in C aren't trivially translated into any other language (except, of course, into machine-specific code by the compiler).

Why not just download the kernel source and browse through it? It's not like it's a nuclear secret.

This has been almost a religious debate, and I won't get involved...

I believe that it IS possible to write kernel code in C++, so long as the C bindings are preserved and no libraries are invoked. Is it a good idea? Probably not. The kernel is written in C and the prudent developer will stick with that.