The Design of the UNIX Operating System

Alot has been said about this book - most of it true and very positive. So I'll just add my experience...In self-studying OS (they didn't directly cover it in college), I tried a few other popular OS books. Modern operating systems (T-rex book), the book with the tiger on it (forgot its name). I bought a book on Windows...I never completed them, and never began feeling like I had gotten to the root of what makes an operating system an operating system.It became clear I needed to study UNIX first, and then branch out to other modern OS's from there. But what I really needed... was to study the UNIX kernel first, and become a proficient user next.Core understanding is always something I look for first when learning. It's just the style inwhich I learn... some are different, they like to dive in and get their hands dirty. I like to start at the root, get the details about the fundamentals in place, and work my way up.This book is perfect for that. If you're that kind of learner... this is your starting point to OS, in my opinion. The core structure of an OS could not be made more clear here, and you get the historical grounding on UNIX as well which is valuable perspective.I don't mean to imply the book is elementary in its content - not at all. It's not a beginners book, it's quite technical and very well written too. And I think experienced developers who have familiarity of OS concepts, but haven't studied the UNIX kernal, will benefit from this book.Overall... an easy 5 stars.

If you want to understand Unix or Linux inside out, then you must read (or better, study) this book.This is the book that made all the free variants of Unix, like Linux (in all its flavors), FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, etc. possible. The book provides a road map to writing your own version of Unix without violating patents, which isn't such a big deal now, but was a huge obstacle at the time the above mentioned free versions of Unix were being created.I recently ran a search on this book on O'Reilly's Safarionline.com service. Although they don't have this book (!), it was amazing to see how many computer books quote this text or list it as a reference or in a bibliography.The book is easy to read, and very clear. You only need a basic understanding of the 'C' language (in which *nix is written) to follow along.This book is one of the true classics from the early Unix books published by Prentice Hall, many of which were connected with Brian Kernighan and his peers at AT&T. Even then it was affectionately referred to as the "Bach Book". Nothing else to date comes close. Please correct me if I'm wrong!All the basics of the kernel are laid bare, and example 'C' code demonstrates implementation of the algorithems. Compared with reading the actual source code, this book is way better because it communicates the essence without the distracting details of an actual implementation. If after reading the book, you do look at the source code for the kernel, it will be much easier to understand and navigate.

The book I received is in great shape for a 25 year old book. Much better than I was expecting.

This book has the fundamentals that I wish I had growing up. The explanation and information is relative to today’s Linux and has the best explanation of what a socket really is.

If you've ever wondered what goes into designing a trustworthy computer operating system, this book will be a big help.

Excellent

Excellent book for the Unix/Linux internal working. If you want to know how Unix/Linux work on the inside, get it.

A 'must read' for everybody interested in understanding the basics of the UNIX core.

Best outdated book I ever read.

Great book by great people.

as advertised

Very thorough, goes into just the right level of detail to give you a fundamental understanding and appreciation of everything that goes into operating system design.

The book is a brand new one