<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: 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 <filename>/usr/include/{linux,asm}</filename> in Chapter 6. They should match those which glibc was compiled against and therefore should <emphasis>not</emphasis> be replaced when upgrading the kernel. They are essential for compiling many programs.</para></sect4> </sect3> </sect2>