Navigate the Linux Kernel Like Google Maps

MakeLinux writes with a link to a cool interactive map of the kernel: "A picture is worth a thousand words. Just try it, and navigate the Linux kernel like Google Maps."

deja vous ?

[v1]

Wasn't this map a front page article here a few months ago?

Re:

[Chabo]

To be pedantic, it's "deja vu".

To be really pedantic, the "e" and the "a" have accents, but slashdot can't display them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9j%C3%A0_vu [wikipedia.org]

Re:deja vous ?

[gomiam]

To be really, really pedantic, it can show them: déjà vu. Don't underestimate the power of HTML entities ;)

Re:

[Chabo]

Well played...

Re:deja vous ?

[Tarlus]

I think you meant, touché.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

More like douché

Re:

[b4dc0d3r]

I think he meant "Goddamn, brother Jimbob, you sure rode me around and called me Betty!"

Re:

[dotancohen]

Æ

Re:

[linhares]

Don't know about the deja vous, but this site sure can't handle some slashdottin`

Re:

[Chabo]

The site's working fine for me... after seeing it initially in Firefox, I tried again in Firefox, just to make sure it wasn't just cached.

Re:deja vous ?

[telchine]

The site's working fine for me

Hmm, it's not working for me. It just says "Loading. Please wait ...", are you sure this isn't a map of the Vista kernel?

Re:

[DavoMan]

Yeah its a top level overview with 0 zoom capability. And you're right, there was another article about a massive map thing of the kernel.

Re:

[jd]

There was another kernel map (in wheel form) that was front page a few years back. Personally, I prefer the wheel format.

Re:

[Skeptical1]

I've seen this before! Seriously, its either Hillary's Health Care Plan or my own neural map(the one I see when I look inwardly). I'll bet the human mind is a kludge.

Re:

[dov_0]

Pretty sure it was - months ago... nothing new here. Move along.

This map reminds me of a quote from Maine.

[synthesizerpatel]

"You can't get there from here."

ZING! Take that people who've given their time for free to a software product!

Re:

[iminplaya]

"You can't get there from here."

Then there will come to me.

Re:

[Brotherred]

"You can't get there from here."

ZING! Take that people who've given their time for free to a software product!

Mod up parent comment. I am very sure that the author of the site would take up submissions or hacking suggestions if offered in kindness.

wow

[DragonTHC]

really borin^H^H^H^H^H neat!

Re:

[thhamm]

well then order a poster of it [makelinux.net] for a meazly 100$ to get the 'real' kicker. :(

great.

[thhamm]

oh come on. :/

Makes you wonder

[Tibor the Hun]

Makes you wonder what a windows xp or vista kernel map would look like?

Re:Makes you wonder

[spacefiddle]

Your comment + your sig = i immediately think of Nethack...

Re:Makes you wonder

[linhares]

Makes you wonder what a windows xp or vista kernel map would look like?

You mean like this? [capyblanca.com]

Re:

[TornCityVenz]

OMG! no I mean it.... so your saying the Windows XP kernel is .... Fuzzy Spaghetti Monster!

Re:

[jd]

The printout generated a gravity well so severe that it formed a black hole and took the civilization that developed the script with it.

Re:

[Bieeanda]

This is why I'm not so keen on the Singularity. The entire world at what passes for your fingertips... but at what cost?!

Re:

[schon]

I dunno, and if it's written anything like IIS, [devside.net] I don't want to!

Through the looking-glass

[Ashtead]

"You're in a maze of little functions, all alike. In the distance you hear somebody practicing throwing chairs."

And all of the functions have at least seven arguments, and one of these is a pointer to variable-length structs that have to be populated before calling the function. Another argument that always appears is an opaque pointer referring to SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES, which may be, and usually is, set to NULL becuse no-one is arsed to go through the necessary contortions of obtaining the required credenti

Re:

[pushing-robot]

Using Windows is like walking through Middle-earth. There's a freaking wizard lurking around every corner.

I think it's more like walking through Hogwarts. At least Middle-earth was well written.

Just like Google maps...

[imsabbel]

If google maps would just allow you to zoom in enough to let russia fill the screen.

Seriously, anybody else expecting, well, MORE with that headline? Like a complete mapping of function calls, or something?

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell i was hoping for a street view of the kernel.
At least something other than one image poorly zoomed with javascript.
10 year old could do better.

Re:

[jd]

Hmmm. If you fed the output from one of the (many) kernel mapping programs into LinCity, you could indeed have a street view.

Re:Just like Google maps...

[Anonymous Coward]

At the very least I was expecting to be able to drill down into the different aspects of the kernel. Instead all we got is a zoomable picture. Big whoop.

Re:

[Fluffeh]

Seriously, anybody else expecting, well, MORE with that headline? Like a complete mapping of function calls, or something?

Yeah, I was expecting a little more. While I am sure that a few semi shaded boxes with the main kernel concepts is great, and you can move it left and right, and zoom in and out... it's still a very high level image detailing not very much.

I mean really, "File System" contains entries like: /fs /file /sys_read /sys_write. Not to be rude, but is this exactly a revelation to ANYONE?

Link to source code

[Lord Grey]

If you could actually do something with it, it would be pretty neat. Link to the source code, perhaps?

(I'm viewing it with Safari Beta on a Mac, so maybe the problem is just my browser.)

Re:

[Methlin]

Tried clicking one of the function names yet? Yup, takes you to a code search.
Still not very useful unless you're someone who writes memory managers, file systems or schedulers. For someone writing a device driver for some widget it's really not all that useful to know the entire kernel structure.

This doesn't remind me of Google Maps

[jeffmeden]

This reminds me of Google Moon, neat but ultimately totally useless. Wake me up when there is a kernel map with 2 or 3 orders of magnitude navigable from one interface. If I wanted a list of all the components of the kernel, and hyperlinks to the code, I have plenty of more useful places to look.

I wonder how...

[Spookticus]

...they are going to make cameras that small to navigate the code ? On a side note, who are they going to shrink?

Re:

[HTH NE1]

On a side note, who are they going to shrink?

Bruce Boxleitner?

Whoever it is, he's gotta purchase his program 30 days in advance. Or get special permission from the MCP.

No day/night cycle

[anss123]

Fail!

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, this is the funniest thing I've seen in years,/em>. Epic troll, thank you for sharing with the community.

Flashy gimmick or gimmick with potential?

[w0mprat]

Nice headline but the actual tool is more like a zooming and scrolling image. It would be really neat if this was anything like google maps and you actually deep zoomed into further detail. Even more interesting would be being able to go all the way down to the code and make changes! Coders kind of learn to visualize the high level structure of their work, but it's very hard for one coder to grasp the whole program. Indeed to manage complex projects, this is how it's done with lots of diagrams and charts, otherwise nobody stands a chance of understanding it.

Actually being able to see it would be truely remarkable.

Re:

[fat_mike]

Actually being able to see it would be truely remarkable.

Didn't your RTFM noob, You don't need that feature.

Re:

[linhares]

This is the most asinine thing I've ever seen on Slashdot.

You've gotta be new here.

How about visual dynamic animation?

[meburke]

What I'd like to see is a visual trace through the map. Click on something to start a visual trip through the objects and modules, possibly with cool explanations on the side while they are running.

Picture Seems Familiar

[CopaceticOpus]

It's a LINUX system! I know this!

Huh?

[Ecuador]

How is this like google maps? I expected at least street view (you' ve seen how they did it in Tron) not to mention there is not even basic address search.

Is it at least the kernel map of a beowulf cluster node?

Re:

[dacut]

How is this like google maps?

They both use Javascript.

I found ...

[PPH]

... a module commented "Here be dragons" once.

Missing Street View

[db32]

Seriously...I can do street view with Google. Why can't I "street" view the kernel and roam around? Google maps indeed...

Anyone know of a general use API?

[HappyEngineer]

Does anyone know of a general implementation of a google maps-like interface? I'm thinking of something like ExtJS where parts of the map are loaded as needed at various zoom levels with clickable points, etc.

Oh great

[Thyamine]

Now the terrorists will know exactly where to strike! Did no one think to obscure the important parts? Oh wait...