https://sankethbk.github.io/blog/tags/task_struct/Recent content in Task_struct on Sanketh's BlogHugo -- 0.165.0en-usThu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://sankethbk.github.io/blog/posts/operating-systems/linux/2026-07-16-kernel-lab-observing-process-structs/Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://sankethbk.github.io/blog/posts/operating-systems/linux/2026-07-16-kernel-lab-observing-process-structs/<h1 id="kernel-lab-1-observing-process-and-vfs-structs">Kernel Lab 1: Observing Process and VFS Structs</h1> <p><img alt="Kernel Data structures Map" loading="lazy" src="https://sankethbk.github.io/blog/images/kernel-data-structures-summary.png"></p> <h2 id="primer-on-kernel-data-structures">Primer on Kernel Data Structures</h2> <h3 id="1-process--memory-management-mm">1. Process &amp; Memory Management (MM)</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Struct</th> <th>Description</th> <th>Noteworthy Fields</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><code>task_struct</code></td> <td>The kernel&rsquo;s representation of a thread/process.</td> <td><code>mm</code> (memory space), <code>files</code> (open files), <code>fs</code> (cwd/root), <code>pid</code>, <code>comm</code> (name).</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>mm_struct</code></td> <td>The descriptor for an entire memory address space.</td> <td><code>mm_mt</code> (the Maple Tree of VMAs), <code>pgd</code> (page global directory for hardware MMU).</td> </tr> <tr> <td><code>vm_area_struct</code></td> <td>A contiguous range of virtual memory with shared permissions (a VMA).</td> <td><code>vm_start</code>, <code>vm_end</code>, <code>vm_file</code> (if it&rsquo;s a memory-mapped file), <code>vm_flags</code>.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h3 id="2-virtual-file-system-vfs">2. Virtual File System (VFS)</h3> <p>The VFS bridges the gap between user-space file operations (like <code>open()</code> and <code>read()</code>) and the underlying hardware.</p>