Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 942 pages
- Published by: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
- Edition: 3rd Edition November 17, 2005
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0596005652
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0596005658
-
Book Dimensions:
9.1 x 6.8 x 1.7 inches
- Weighs: 2.8 pounds
Product Description
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.
About The Author
Daniel P. Bovet got a Ph.D. in computer science at UCLA in 1968 and is now full Professor at the University of Rome, "Tor Vergata," Italy. He had to wait over 25 years before being able to teach an operating system course in a proper manner because of the lack of source code for modern, well-designed systems. Now, thanks to cheap PCs and to Linux, Marco and Dan are able to cover all the facets of an operating system from booting to tuning and are able to hand out tough, satisfying homework to their students. (These young guys working at home on their PCs are really spoiled; they never had to fight with punched cards.) In fact, Dan was so fascinated by the accomplishments of Linus Torvalds and his followers that he spent the last few years trying to unravel some of Linux's mysteries. It seemed natural, after all that work, to write a book about what he found.
Marco Cesati received a degree in mathematics in 1992 and a Ph.D. in computer science (University of Rome, "La Sapienza") in 1995. He is now a research assistant in the computer science department of the School of Engineering (University of Rome, "Tor Vergata"). In the past, he served as system administrator and Unix programmer for the university (as a Ph.D. student) and for several institutions (as a consultant).
Reader ReviewsThe book "Undestanding the Linux Kernel", explains clearly the inner workings of the current 2.6 Linux kernel. The presentation is at a considerable level of detail, the authors fully describe the important data structures, and the significant chunks of code. The book is indispensable to any serious Linux kernel developer. However, it can be used also at the context of an "Operating Systems Design" academic course and the students can learn a lot from the technologically advanced Linux 2.6 kernel implementation and can modify/recompile and install their own version! The level of the book is advanced and I recommend concurrently with it, the reader to study also the book: "Linux kernel development" by Robert Love that presents the algorithms also very clearly, but with a more academic view, without zooming to all the implementation concerns. I own both books and by studing them, I can have the significant experience of customizing the source code of the superior Linux 2.6 kernel.
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