Question: Favorite Linux kernel book?
Hi all,
I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for reading material to introduce the Linux kernel, design & code.
I haven't found any online documentation that is as complete and introductory as I like (obviously the kernel code itself is complete, but... :-)
I've seen one book: Linux Kernel Programming by Beck (and about 6 other authors). It looks good, but before I shell out $50 I'd like to know if there are any other options. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks, Eric
Signature · 2 lines
"First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. And then you win." -Gandhi
Quoted 2 lines
I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for reading material to introduce the Linux kernel, design & code.
I can't let this go by without recommending "Linux Device Drivers", which covers much of the kernel API. Available at your favorite bookstore, or online (under the FDL) at: http://www.xml.com/ldd/chapter/book/index.html.
Of course, I'm a little biased on that one...
Other worthwhile books include "Understanding the Linux Kernel," also published by O'Reilly (though it's a little behind the times now), and "ia-64 Linux Kernel," which is well worthwhile even if you have no interest in the ia-64 architecture.
jon
Jonathan Corbet
Executive editor, LWN.net
[email protected]
Jon et al,
Quoted 4 lines
Other worthwhile books include "Understanding the Linux Kernel," also published by O'Reilly (though it's a little behind the times now), and "ia-64 Linux Kernel," which is well worthwhile even if you have no interest in the ia-64 architecture.
Nonetheless even though "Understanding the Linux Kernel" is behind the times it seems to give enough information for informed programmers (or hacker ;-P) to find their way around the source.
DSL
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Quoted 3 lines
Nonetheless even though "Understanding the Linux Kernel" is behind the times it seems to give enough information for informed programmers (or hacker ;-P) to find their way around the source.
Indeed - I *did* recommend it for a reason...
jon
Hi Eric,
Quoted 2 lines
I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for reading material to introduce the Linux kernel, design & code.
I recommend you the book 'Understanding the Linux kernel' from O'Reilly, though it's mainly based in 2.2 kernel, with some comments on new features in 2.4, still contains a lot o good information about how the kernel 'guts' ;) work. A book that you shouldn't miss.
Signature · 4 lines
David Gómez "The question of whether computers can think is just like the question of whether submarines can swim." -- Edsger W. Dijkstra
I'd also recommend "Unix Internals: The New Frontiers". The sections on memory management, particularly the slab allocator is worth understand seeing as how the linux's current slab allocator is based on the concepts discussed in that book.
Ron Henry
"the illiterate of the future are not those who can neither read or write; but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn..."
On Sun, 20 Oct 2002, it was written:
Quoted 21 lines
Hi Eric,
Quoted 2 lines
I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for reading material to introduce the Linux kernel, design & code.
I recommend you the book 'Understanding the Linux kernel' from O'Reilly, though it's mainly based in 2.2 kernel, with some comments on new features in 2.4, still contains a lot o good information about how the kernel 'guts' ;) work. A book that you shouldn't miss.
--
David G�mez"The question of whether computers can think is just like the question of
whether submarines can swim." -- Edsger W. Dijkstra
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Quoted 6 lines · Eric Altendorf
I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for reading material to introduce the Linux kernel, design & code.
I haven't found any online documentation that is as complete and introductory as I like (obviously the kernel code itself is complete, but... :-)
Also two other books - Linux device drivers is good. If you are new to kernels and hardware the best book on Linux is in some ways Andy Tanenbaum's Operating Systems. Its not about Linux but its one of the best intros to the whole topic.