Open Source Summit Korea 2026

Modern Linux init systems don't just magically start executing services. Long before PID 1 reaches its main loop, a complex, carefully orchestrated dance of initialization routines takes place. This presentation explores the crucial, often-overlooked machinery bridging the compiler toolchain and system orchestration: the linker.

Often treated as a black box, the linker (ld) is an immensely powerful tool for low-level systems engineers. This deep dive pulls back the curtain on how modern init architectures leverage custom linker scripts, specifically defined ELF sections, and compiler directives (like __attribute__((constructor))) to precisely control execution order and optimize memory layouts before the system fully comes alive.