[kristoffer]

"Torvalds wrote the original code for printk, a debugging tool that can pinpoint exact moments where a process crashes"

A debugging tool? I do like printk debugging but I am not sure about that description :-)

[bmicraft]

Well, maybe not for debugging the kernel itself, but it is very useful for finding failing hardware, missing/crashing drivers and so on as a user. Call it external debugging if you will,