Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Edition

Understanding Linux Network Internals

Linux Kernel Development (2nd Edition)

Building Embedded Linux Systems

General

Understanding the Linux Kernel

Format: Paperback
Author: Daniel Plerre Bovet
ReleaseDate: 01 November, 2005
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Rating:

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!


Bovet and Cesati, begin by presenting a general picture of what is inside a Unix kernal and how Linux competes against other well-known Unix systems. Are you curious about how Linux works and why it is so efficient? If you are, then this book is for you! Authors Daniel Plerre Bovet and Marco Cesati, have done an outstanding job of writing a practical book that will help you find your way through the many thousands of lines of code. Then, the authors explain how 80x86 processors include special circuits to address data in memory and how Linux exploits them. They continue by explaining how each process runs either in an unprivileged User Mode or in a privileged Kernal Mode. Then, the authors introduce interrupts and exceptions. Then, they discuss how synchronization mechanisms are needed so that all these requests can be serviced in a interleaved way by the kernal. Next, the authors discuss timing measurements. Then, they explain how Linux executes, in turn, every active process in the system so that all of them can progress toward their completions. They continue by describing the sophisticated techniques required to handle the most precious resource in the system. Next, the authors show you how the kernal copes with the requests for memory issued by greedy application programs. Then, they explain how a process running in User Mode makes requests to the kernal. They continue by describing how a process may send synchronization signals to other processes. Then, the authors introduce a general layer that supports many different filesystems. Next, they offer insights into special files and on the corresponding hardware device drivers. They also show you how to reduce disk accesses through the use of RAM. Then, they show you how user applications access normal files. Next, the authors explain the techniques used by Linux to ensure that enough memory is always available. Then, they illustrate the most frequently used Linux filesystem, namely Ext2 and its recent evolution, Ext3. They continue by introducing communication mechanisms other than signals available to User Mode processes. Finally, the authors explain how user applications are started.

This most excellent book helps you distinguish between crucial data structures and secondary ones. More importantly, this book helps you become a true Linux hacker.
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Good coverage
I would like to see more coverage of SMP
support. Very good book.

No Kernel debugging :(


Otherwise this book is just perfect - I give it 5 stars :). One thing that's really missing is a nice chapter on Kernel debugging -- using some existing kernel debuggers and how they all compare, interpreting those OOPS messages -- everything that goes with kernel hacking!
This book covers VMM so comprehensively that it's really meant for those who _actually_ want to work on kernel, so a 'Kernel Hacking' chapter was a must.