Understanding the Linux Kernel

Finally. I can feed myself with all the cool details of the coolest project that human being has ever done. At least, in the Computer Science world. ;)

Understanding the Linux Kernel (3rd Edition)
Title: Understanding the Linux Kernel
Edition: 3 (2005)
Author: Daniel P. Bovet, Marco Cesati
Description:
This new edition covers Version 2.6 of the Linux kernel, which has seen significant changes to nearly every kernel subsystem, particularly in the areas of memory management and block devices. Understanding the Linux Kernel provides a guided tour of the code that forms the core of all Linux operating systems. Beyond the functioning of the code, the book explains the theoretical underpinnings for why Linux, and many other operating systems, do things the way they do.

In order to thoroughly understand what makes Linux tick and why it works so well on a wide variety of systems, you need to delve deep into the heart of the kernel. The kernel handles all interactions between the CPU and the external world, and determines which programs will share processor time, in what order. It manages limited memory so well that hundreds of processes can share the system efficiently, and expertly organizes data transfers so that the CPU isn’t kept waiting any longer than necessary for the relatively slow disks.
The third edition of Understanding the Linux Kernel takes you on a guided tour of the most significant data structures, algorithms, and programming tricks used in the kernel. Probing beyond superficial features, the authors offer valuable insights to people who want to know how things really work inside their machine. Important Intel-specific features are discussed. Relevant segments of code are dissected line by line. But the book covers more than just the functioning of the code; it explains the theoretical underpinnings of why Linux does things the way it does.

This edition of the book covers Version 2.6, which has seen significant changes to nearly every kernel subsystem, particularly in the areas of memory management and block devices. The book focuses on the following topics:

Memory management, including file buffering, process swapping, and Direct memory Access (DMA)
The Virtual Filesystem layer and the Second and Third Extended Filesystems
Process creation and scheduling
Signals, interrupts, and the essential interfaces to device drivers
Timing
Synchronization within the kernel
Interprocess Communication (IPC)
Program execution
Understanding the Linux Kernel will acquaint you with all the inner workings of Linux, but it’s more than just an academic exercise. You’ll learn what conditions bring out Linux’s best performance, and you’ll see how it meets the challenge of providing good system response during process scheduling, file access, and memory management in a wide variety of environments. This book will help you make the most of your Linux system.

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7 Comments so far »

  1. Nemo wrote on March 9, 2008 @ 10:17

    Cool, yes. But the coolest one is too much. Really, some pieces of the Linux kernel are not a proper masterpiece. You know, it is a little bit “pezzot” :D

  2. Detro wrote on March 9, 2008 @ 12:04

    @nemo: Being the coolest doesn’t mean that is perfect. A project that started as an experiment and ended up in every possible kind of embedded system IT’S the coolest. :D
    Plus, it’s Open Source.

  3. Nemo wrote on March 9, 2008 @ 12:13

    Following this perspective, the coolest project is the web. Tim Berners Lee & Co. transformed an idea in a new ecosystem. Nothing can be cooler than web (again, following your perspective).

    Oh, I forgot. It’s IMHO.

  4. Detro wrote on March 9, 2008 @ 20:52

    Of course it’s IMHO.
    Anyway, I disagree. The web is the second ;)

  5. Nemo wrote on March 10, 2008 @ 10:46

    There is a simple logic reason because the Web is the first. Without the Web, Linux wuold be not what it is nowadays. :P

  6. Detro wrote on March 10, 2008 @ 12:52

    Trying to look backward, this is not entirely true: just think about the way Internet was before the http://WWW. The idea of sharing, communicating and working together was already on.
    So, potentially, Linux would have grown anyway.

    But, I see where you come from: and you are not wrong. The WorldWideWeb gave to everyone an easier way to communicate than the previous BBQ or other things like that.

    Said that, I still believe Linux is the greatest! ;)
    But this is a matter of taste, isn’t it.

  7. Nemo wrote on March 10, 2008 @ 13:04

    Sure. I absolutely agree with you. Except on what the coolest project is :D

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