The kernel via /proc

The kernel is the part of Linux that runs the processor, memory and devices. You cannot poke it directly, but it shows its own state through a special directory, /proc. The things in there look like files, but each one is live data the kernel builds the moment you read it. In this lesson you read them: the number of processors, the amount of memory, a kernel parameter, and the boot line.

It is all read-only, nothing is changed. Nothing to set up.

What to understand

/proc is a window into the kernel in the shape of files. You read a file and the kernel hands you the current data on the fly.

/proc/sys is the kernel's settings, also as files. You can read them, and with root rights change them too.

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