| Rusty Russell | f938d2c | 2007-07-26 10:41:02 -0700 | [diff] [blame] | 1 | Welcome, friend reader, to lguest. | 
|  | 2 |  | 
|  | 3 | Lguest is an adventure, with you, the reader, as Hero.  I can't think of many | 
|  | 4 | 5000-line projects which offer both such capability and glimpses of future | 
|  | 5 | potential; it is an exciting time to be delving into the source! | 
|  | 6 |  | 
|  | 7 | But be warned; this is an arduous journey of several hours or more!  And as we | 
|  | 8 | know, all true Heroes are driven by a Noble Goal.  Thus I offer a Beer (or | 
|  | 9 | equivalent) to anyone I meet who has completed this documentation. | 
|  | 10 |  | 
|  | 11 | So get comfortable and keep your wits about you (both quick and humorous). | 
|  | 12 | Along your way to the Noble Goal, you will also gain masterly insight into | 
|  | 13 | lguest, and hypervisors and x86 virtualization in general. | 
|  | 14 |  | 
|  | 15 | Our Quest is in seven parts: (best read with C highlighting turned on) | 
|  | 16 |  | 
|  | 17 | I) Preparation | 
|  | 18 | - In which our potential hero is flown quickly over the landscape for a | 
|  | 19 | taste of its scope.  Suitable for the armchair coders and other such | 
|  | 20 | persons of faint constitution. | 
|  | 21 |  | 
|  | 22 | II) Guest | 
|  | 23 | - Where we encounter the first tantalising wisps of code, and come to | 
|  | 24 | understand the details of the life of a Guest kernel. | 
|  | 25 |  | 
|  | 26 | III) Drivers | 
|  | 27 | - Whereby the Guest finds its voice and become useful, and our | 
|  | 28 | understanding of the Guest is completed. | 
|  | 29 |  | 
|  | 30 | IV) Launcher | 
|  | 31 | - Where we trace back to the creation of the Guest, and thus begin our | 
|  | 32 | understanding of the Host. | 
|  | 33 |  | 
|  | 34 | V) Host | 
|  | 35 | - Where we master the Host code, through a long and tortuous journey. | 
|  | 36 | Indeed, it is here that our hero is tested in the Bit of Despair. | 
|  | 37 |  | 
|  | 38 | VI) Switcher | 
|  | 39 | - Where our understanding of the intertwined nature of Guests and Hosts | 
|  | 40 | is completed. | 
|  | 41 |  | 
|  | 42 | VII) Mastery | 
|  | 43 | - Where our fully fledged hero grapples with the Great Question: | 
|  | 44 | "What next?" | 
|  | 45 |  | 
|  | 46 | make Preparation! | 
|  | 47 | Rusty Russell. |