Re: Introduction and project intent: Emulating missing linux syscalls

On Tue, 2 Jun 2026, Ilia Javan wrote:

> Hello tech-kern,
>
> My name is Ilia, and I am an undergraduate computer engineering
> student. I am writing to introduce myself and declare my intent to
> spend my summer working on adding missing Linux syscalls to the
> compat_linux translation layer. While this is a personal project and
> not affiliated with Google Summer of Code, I plan to treat the time
> commitment and deliverables as seriously as though it were.

Hi Ilia,

There is currently a GSoC project in place relating to Linux emulation. 
It is focussing on testing the framework and it is anticipated that this 
will highlight broken/missing syscalls. There are syscalls that we know 
will need to be added (based on a previous GSoC) and the testing will 
help with that.

Basically, what I'm saying is that I think it would be better to wait 
until GSoC has completed as this will give plenty of tasks that need to be 
done.

> My background includes C programming and CPU hardware design on FPGAs,
> but this will be my first non-trivial contribution to an open-source
> project and my first dive into kernel development.
>
> To prepare, I have spent the past few weeks reading through texts on
> operating system fundamentals (Advanced Programming in the UNIX
> Environment, The Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD Operating
> System, and Understanding the Linux Kernel). To get hands-on
> experience with the NetBSD ecosystem, CVS, and the GNATS system, I
> recently submitted a patch for a minor pluralization bug in the
> shutdown(8) utility (PR bin/60248). Going through the submission and
> getting feedback on it from the developers has been a great way to
> understand the workflow.
>
> My roadmap for the immediate future includes:
>
> - Finding the missing syscalls: I plan to start by investigating the
> y-cruncher binary, as reported in PR 59589 (Linux emulation fails on
> y-cruncher). I will trace its execution on my amd64 NetBSD QEMU
> environment to identify exactly which syscalls or features it is
> missing. I will also test other Linux binaries to map out additional
> gaps.
>
> - Finalizing a timeline: Once I have traced the missing syscalls for
> y-cruncher (or another suitable binary), I will share a detailed
> project timeline for the remaining 3 months of my summer.
>
> I am very open to suggestions if the community has a specific Linux
> binary or missing syscall they would prioritize for compatibility over
> y-cruncher.
>
> Thank you for your time. I am eagerly looking forward to any advice,
> feedback, or suggested reading materials as I begin this project.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Ilia
>