D-Bus Implementation Aiming For The Linux Kernel

Greg Kroah-Hartman has confirmed he is working on an implementation of D-Bus for merging into the mainline Linux kernel.

GNOME developers and others have been after an implementation of D-Bus, an inter-process communication (IPC) message bus, for the Linux kernel. Last week at the GNOME Developer Hackfest in Belgium, developers reiterated their interest in having a D-Bus for the Linux kernel. Well known Linux kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman, who was also in Brussels for the developer event, confirmed he'll be working on a form of D-Bus for the Linux kernel.

In a blog post by Greg KH, he writes, "I'd like to confirm that yes [bringing D-Bus to the Linux kernel], this is true, but it's not going to be D-Bus like you know it today."

The goal of a D-Bus for the Linux kernel is to provide a reliable multi-cast and point-to-point messaging system within kernel-space that will work quickly and be secure. They also want a D-Bus library interface so existing D-Bus users work without ever knowing their D-Bus daemon was replaced.

This new implementation will be different from AF_BUS, the Linux kernel implementation for providing a low-latency high-speed D-Bus protocol on systems. AF_BUS patches were merged into the Linux 3.4 LTSI kernel, but this work is mainly for automotive Linux developers and will likely be replaced in the future with this new (and better) implementation.

There's no expressed idea at this time when the new D-Bus kernel code will materialize or be aimed for mainline inclusion.