Debug only with printk ?

[Dragoslav Zaric <dragoslav.zaric.kd@gmail.com>]

Hello,

I am relatively new in linux kernel and since debugging is key
element of programming, I am wondering is it really necessary
to use various debugging tools for kernel debugging ?

Is simple printing with printk enough to debug any kind of kernel problem,
and if not, what are the cases when printk is not enough ?

Also, is there possibility when using debugging tools to affect
kernel environment, because debugging tool will also take cpu time and
memory resources ?

thanks

Dragoslav Zaric
[Programmer; M Sc Astrophysics]