A device driver is computer program allowing other computer programs to interact with a computer hardware device. Writing a Linux device driver is considered as a black art by many. If you ever been tempted to try writing a device driver, this howto will serve as a kick start guide:

For many seasoned Linux developers, device drivers still remain a bit of a mysterious black art practiced by a select few. While no single article could possibly attempt to covered everything there is to know about writing drivers, Valerie Henson gives us a brief taste of what’s involved, by implementing a device to return “Hello World” using all the major driver frameworks.

On a related note if you just want get a comprehensive overview of kernel configuration and building, a critical task for Linux users and administrators, try Linux Kernel in a Nutshell

/dev/hello_world: A Simple Introduction to Device Drivers under Linux (linuxdevcenter.com)