Product Description
Now fully updated for Windows XP Service Pack 2, this all-in-one training kit provides in-depth preparation, practice, and review for one of two required exams for the Microsoft Desktop Support Technician Certification (MCDST). Covering Exam 70-271, this kit packs the tools and features exam candidates want most—including in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective review; exam tips from an expert, exam-certified author; and a robust testing suite. It also provides real-world scenarios, case studies, and troubleshooting labs for the skills and expertise you can apply to the job.

Focusing on building your ability to resolve end-user incident requests by configuring and troubleshooting the Windows XP operating system in the corporate or home environment, this official study guide covers system installation, managing access to resources, configuring and troubleshooting hardware devices and drivers, configuring and troubleshooting the desktop and user environments, and troubleshooting network protocols and services.

Ace your exam preparation by working at your own pace through the lessons, hands-on exercises, and practice tests. The flexible, best-of-class test engine on CD-ROM features 425 practice questions. Choose timed or untimed testing mode, generate random tests or focus on discrete objectives or chapters, and get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers—including pointers back to the book for further study. You also get a 120-day evaluation version of Windows XP software and other resources on the CD, making this kit an exceptional value and a great ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

Easy to Understand
This product is easy to use and understand. I have read through the book slowly, little by little, but gives great key words and summaries that help to understand the material.

Good so far
I'm half way through this book and like what Ive got. It Is well written and has reviews and summaries at the end of each chapter and section. Also has plenty of test prep material.

In Depth
This product is exact and in depth.It does a great job of reviewing for the tests and the includes an xp sp2 cd as well as a support cd.I covers installs and explains permissions and security in a comparison matter.Even if you troubleshoot XP all day long, you will learn at least one new thing from this book.

Discription was different from what it said
I puchased this book because of the discription said that this book is look like new.
It wasn't.There is no CD, and it seemed like somebody tore it off.
It didn't look nice at all.I couldn't read some parts because of it.
I returned for refund. I will never purchase from here.

Amazon continue to impress
Yet again Amazon has impressed me. Book prices in Australia are ridiculously expensive. I was able to get this and 70-272 and two other unrelated books for less than the price of one bought locally.

What was even better is that despite a delivery estimate date of 5 weeks, the books arrived in only 11 days. I was shocked when i saw the courier at the door.

Amazon has a customer for life.

The book looks great, I have only just started studying, but it looks like its just what I wanted. Just need to do the exam now :) ... Read more

Product Description
The author has taught the design and use of microprocessor systems to undergraduate and technician level students for over 25 years.

*A core text for academic modules on microprocessors, embedded systems and computer architecture
*A practical design-orientated approach
*FREE CD-ROM features a unique microprocessor simulator, and accompanying website contains solutions, FAQs and updates to software ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Instruction with numerous programming examples
Embedded Systems & Computer Architecture by computer design and microprocessor systems instructor Graham Wilson is a combination instruction book and CD-ROM created to be an effective, informative, highly recommended introduction to microprocessors and computer architecture for electronics undergraduate courses. The text offers straightforward instruction with numerous programming examples, while the CD-ROM includes interactive animations of digital circuits and an integrated development system. a graphical simulator of a microprocessor allows the reader to create and test his or her own designs in this excellent self-teaching tool, supplementary reference, or course backbone text. ... Read more

Product Description
An authoritative, in-depth description of the contemporary 4.4BSD operating syste, the latest release of what previously was know as the Berkeley version of UNIX. This "insider's look" presents both philosophical and design issues as well as details of actual implementation of 4.4BSD. Covers virtual-memory system used in 4.4BSD including a key section on the functions needed to port it to a new architecture.Amazon.com Review
This book describes the design and implementation of the BSD operatingsystem--previously known as the Berkeley version of UNIX. Today, BSDis found in nearly every variant of UNIX, and is widely used forInternet services and firewalls, timesharing, and multiprocessingsystems. Readers involved in technical and sales support can learn thecapabilities and limitations of the system; applications developerscan learn effectively and efficiently how to interface to the system;systems programmers can learn how to maintain, tune, and extend thesystem.

Highlights:

• Details major changes in process and memory management
• Describes the new extensible and stackable file system interface
• Includes an invaluable chapter on the new network file system
• Updates information on networking and interprocess communication

Customer Reviews (10)

Not bad.
This really filled the void between the amazing hands-on "Lions Book" and Maurice Bach's "The Design of the UNIX Operating System", introducing the reader to some more modern implementation of the UNIX operating system.
There is some bad in the good though, the text varies in quality, not having code anywhere in the book is sometimes a big miss, you can get pretty exhausted reading this, I meant to get this book as bed time reading, it ended up being more of a reference, with only a few chapters being useful, if you're curious about the internals of the actual system get it, but if you need some more theoretical grasp or a "toy problem" book to truly understand the basics, then get Lions book.
Conclusion, I dont regret having it on my shelf, maybe it just could have been better.

Enjoy.

packed with facts, however there is little joy
If you are already a BSD kernel expert you might use this as a reference. If you're an advanced "userland" programmer who wants to start learning about kernel internels, this is one way to proceed but, it is very, very difficult.

I wish Kirk had decided to show us more of the joy of programming the kernel. If he had, the book would have been worth at least twice it's current price.

Great book on BSD 4.4, but make sure you've read Bach first
While this book has been written by some of the best in the UNIX arena, their strong focus on packing a lot of content into these pages at times can prove a burden to the reader.

Reading through the chapters, it appears that the book could have been rendered more readable if a knowledgeable technical editor had put the finishing touches on it.

Nevertheless, even though it takes a bit of time to get used to the different writing styles and differences in quality of several chapters, this books is a well of insights into the internal workings of BSD 4.4 and its derivatives (like Mac OS X).

In order to gain the most from this title, I strongly urge interested readers to already have worked their way through Maurice J. Bach's "The Design of the UNIX Operating System".

Don't get confused by the cover, it's not a comix book :)
Seriously, despite of the funny little daemon on the cover, this book is quite difficult.

First, it's a technical book about the BSD kernel. The only reason why you would want to read it is that you really want to know How It Works(tm). It's all about kernel. The drivers are only slightly touched, the API is touched even less. Rather than that, this book shows you the fields and flags of internal structures and the ways they are handled. Therefore I'd only recommend it to the system programmers and may be to the enthusiastic admins.

Second, certain chapters are written much worse than the others. The language in chapters 4 (Process Management) and 5 (Memory Management) is sort of a tangled making reading a challenge and it's really a pity because these two topics would better be covered best.

Also note that this book does not include sample code AT ALL. All the principles and algorithms are described using plain English and I'd say it's great, because it's much easier to follow, rather than making your way through somebody else's C scribbling.

Anyway, 5 stars, because it gives you 500 pages of pure distilled info. And it's info from the authors of BSD !

I'm definetely looking forward to read this book again and this is one of the books that are worth it.

What a wonderful book.
This book is perfect. During the past summer I began to learn about UNIX filesystems and this book came in handy. It explains what a vnode is in a easy to understand way. The explanations on the VFS API is great too. Now that MacOSX has a BSD 4.4 foundation this book will be good to have for macintosh developers. ... Read more

Product Description
Principles of Operating Systems: Design and Applications is an ideal resource for anyone who wants to gain a basic understanding of operating systems in the context of the applications in which they are used. The main focus of this text is to foster an understanding of operating system fundamentals: what types of services they provide, how various applications interface with them, and the restrictions they have on those applications. Making this book unique in its approach is the inclusion of a wide range of example systems and detailed case studies of the Linux and Inferno operating systems. By combining a traditional set of topics with this real-life contextual background, readers will achieve an enriched understanding of the material, which they can immediately apply to the world of operating systems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Inexpensive
Got my item on the second week of classes when it was ordered on the late first week of class. Thank you! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A great transition from pure tech to warm community.
Although not required reading to get a linux system up and running, Dr. Bentson puts technical detail into system perspective. This book gives understanding and depth to a serious computer experiance. If you have any desire to make a contribution to the linux/free software community, I highly recommend getting "Inside Linux".

Linux for non-programmers
This book covers the inner working of a real operating system (Linux). It's not intended to be a technical description of the inner working of the system - which is great for all us non-programmers. If you want to know "why" and "how" Linux works without facing the source code, this book is for you. I consider it a must-have for any intermediate Linux user.

A book that finally gets to the point and I'm awake.
Most books tell you that they are going to explain certain concepts, ideas and facts, then leave you wondering,"Why did I buy the book." Mr. Bentson has smacked those books off the shelf with his book. Most books on computers tend to be below or above the readers comprehension. Never no middle ground.Being new to Linux I wanted to get an idea what Linux was and is. I found the book for that purpose."Inside look at Linux" is well laid out. By chopping up the sections it allows you to get a cup of coffe or surf the NET and remember where you were. I feel he nails his purpose for this book by explaining terms in easy to understand and comprehend language."Inside look at Linux"had me searching for the answers to the terms I did not know or understand. If I give him a "10" he won't strive for a better book. Good job. Jim Ballo ... Read more

Product Description
This new series by PC guru Mike Meyers is designed to give students of varying experience a practical working knowledge of baseline IT skills and technologies. This four-color illustrated volume covers each of the major operating systems, including DOS, Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP, Mac OS9/OSX, and UNIX/Linux. A chapter on networking and network operating systems is also included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Nice Book
This edition is great for learning operating systems prior to Vista. The book has large text, great clear colored pictures, additional tips windows along the margins, and bold red key terms. Each end of a chapter also contains several quizes and lab projects. Although, it's starting to show age, this is a wonderfully designed book in terms of text & graphics, a pleasure to read.

Survey of Operating Systems
Received this book quickly. Actually was sent 2 of them and billed for 2. They refunded the 2nd book after it was sent back and paid for shipping. Refund was complete. Great service.

Excellent Learning Tool
As an IT student, I occasionally run into material that I find stale, boring, and overwhelming.This book isn't like that.I am able to review study material that is not only useful, but fun to read!You can't go wrong with this book, it is a valuable resource to learning OSs and what makes them tick.

Excellent add on for the A+ study guide.
Looking for the A+ certification? As you know this certification has 2 exams, I for hardware and 1 for the Operating systems. This book is a great prep tool for the OS section as it covers several key operating systems and few that aren't on the exam.

The book starts off with a hardware overview, which is very helpful in the understanding of software. Then you deal with the older operating systems like Windows 3.X and DOS, this is a nice foundation to learn the roots of the operating system.

Then comes NT, 2000, XP and there is even section for the MAC OS and Linux group. What I liked about this book was the exercises and labs; they would prove to very helpful in understanding certain concepts.

About the only thing missing is cds with evaluation copies of the operating system(s), in case you don't have access to them. Overall this book is a great compliment to the Mike Meyers All in One A+ Study Guide. As an Instructor, this book becomes a valuable add on to the curriculum.

Excellent introduction for IT students
This book is great for students who want to become IT professionals. It's more than just learning how to use client-side operating systems. In this book, you learn how to install, configure and troubleshoot, and includes coverage of networking. Read this and you're on your way to an A+ certfication not to mention a desktop support or help desk position. It's a beautifully designed book. ... Read more

Product Description
Operating Systems provides an understanding of contemporary operating system concepts by integrating the principles behind the design of all operating systems with how they are put into practice in the real world. Throughout, Gary Nutt provides a complete discussion of operating concepts and supplements this with real code examples, algorithms, and discussions about implementation issues. The book also includes many lab exercises that provide students with the opportunity to practice with Linux, UNIX, and Windows. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

You know something. You read this book on it. Now you don't know it anymore
If you have to read it like me for a class, then there is no choice but to get it. However, if you have a choice, don't read it. Read the man pages... for they give a better understanding of it.

Take a subject, like Public Key Encryption. Search Google on how it works, read wikipedia, and all that fun reads to get a good understanding of the subject. Now read the chapter of how Nutt describes it... You will question yourself if you really understand it. Worst of all, he knows that it is confusing and tries to explain it another way, but only loses you more.

One of many examples...

RTM, it's better...
This book is absolutely horrible... hard to read, incoherent, and amazingly difficult to use for educational purposes...The example code is unusable and in many cases non-functional. It has no basis in real world application or information.It is theoretical at levels that provide no value to those who are practitioners, administrators, programmers or educators.If you're looking for practical information this is not the place. The topics covered in this book are not the issues encountered in the real world.

The latest edition is mildly improved but if you want a useful and well written book on operating systems, this is NOT the one you want...

RTM... (RTM - read the manual); reading the man pages or help pages, as horrible as they are for most operating systems would provide more value than this textbook.

I highly recommend:
Operating System Concepts (7th Edition) (Hardcover)
by Abraham Silberschatz (Author), Peter Baer Galvin (Author), Greg Gagne (Author) "An operating system is a program that manages the computer hardware..." Operating System Concepts (7th Edition)

I used it as a text for years and never found it lacking
For three years, this is the book that I used as the text in my operating systems class. I found the coverage of the core topics that one covers in an undergraduate level course in a computer science major to be complete in both breadth and depth. Like all texts, there were times when I used some supplemental handouts in order to further emphasize a topic or to present additional practice problems.
The order of the topics is:

*) The abstract machine and how it is applied in a sequential and parallel manner.
*) The fundamental organization of an operating system.
*) The fundamental hardware structure of a Von Neumann computer and other architectures.
*) Device management
*) Implementing processes, threads and resources
*) Job scheduling tactics and strategies
*) Basic strategies for process synchronization
*) Advanced strategies for process synchronization
*) The definition of deadlock, how to avoid it and how to recognize and recover from it
*) Memory management
*) Virtual memory
*) File management
*) Security strategies and policies
*) Networks and remote file sharing
*) Distributed computing
*) Strategies for the design of operating systems
*) The Linux kernel
*) The Windows NT/200/XP kernel

There is far too much material in this book to cover in a one-semester class; generally I was able to cover everything up through the security strategies. I don't know when I will teach operating systems again, but if I do, this book will be at or near the top of my short list for the text.

great OS book
This books picks up examples from real operating systems.. the conslusions at the end of every chapter make sense to anybody who has actually written code for an OS rather than one of those books that pontificate about how it is supposed to be.

Good textbook
As a text book, it is very good. I have read much worse. At some points, it will try to explain topics using actual code used by operative systems, and that can be confusing and hard to follow, especially Windows kernel code. And the exercises are hard if you do not have much practice with system software. On the good part, it is easy to read (talkative like, not lectury), and uses simple and easy to understand analogies. Another good thing about this book is that has a very complete index, and a very useful glossary. ... Read more

Product Description
Now in its Sixth Edition, UNDERSTANDING OPERATING SYSTEMS continues to provide a clear and straightforward explanation of operating theory and practice. As in previous editions, the book's highly-regarded structure begins with a discussion of fundamentals before moving on to specific operating systems. This edition has been updated and modernized; now included are enhanced discussions of the latest innovation evolutions (multi-core processing, wireless technologies, PDA and telephone operating systems, and Blu-ray optical storage) and how they affect operating systems. Revised Research Topics in the exercise section encourage independent research among students. Content in the final four chapters has been updated to include information about a few of the latest versions of UNIX (including specific mention of the latest Macintosh OS), Linux, and Windows. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Great Deal
I needed this book for a college class and got it delivered to my home quicker and cheaper than I could have bought it at a book store.

Operating System
The bokk was used but in very good condition as promised. I am from Bahamas, it was excellent. Thanks.

Happy Customer
I ordered this book and received it in 2 days.It arrived in excellent condition and I am very satisfied.

Excellent and outstanding service
Excellent and outstanding service
Thank you for time and business.

V/R

INTULECT

speedy mailing service
Very pleased with how soon I received the book after ordering, plenty of time before my child started school. ... Read more

Product Description
Our body couldn’t function without our brains. The brain tells the various pieces of our body how to work and how to interact. Without a brain, we wouldn’t be able to do anything at all.
An operating system is kind of like the brain of a computer. You have a bunch of hardware like the CPU tower, the monitor, and the keyboard, but without a CPU, they can’t do anything but power up and turn on. The operating system organizes files and lets the hardware know what it should do.
In the early days of computers, there was just one operating system. As computers progressed, the OS turned into MS-DOS, but computers really weren’t capable of doing much without software. Then Bill Gates came along.
With the founding of Microsoft, the computer operating system came into its own and brought computers to new levels of functioning and technology. Although the brand names of operating systems are few, they do perform different tasks depending on the requirements of the computer user.
While the dominant OS today would be Microsoft Windows, there are other types of operating systems that offer different features. Those would include Linux, UNIX, and OS X.
In our technological age, there are operating systems in more than just computers. Many of the sophisticated new cell phones have their own operating systems, and wireless access points have their own OS to provide wireless internet to customers. In fact, the computer in a cell phone today is more powerful than a computer was twenty years ago.
As you can see, the operating system technology has evolved and is continuing to evolve. It seems like Microsoft is always coming out with a new and better operating system which leads people to wonder whether or not the system they are currently using is really the best one.
It can be confusing. But it doesn’t have to be. In the pages of this book, we’ll explore operating system in depth. You’ll learn about
what they do, how they work, and what needs specific systems can meet. Ultimately, the choice is a matter of preference, but it helps to be informed on what you are really getting when choosing an OS.
We’ll show you operating systems uncovered, so read on!

Table of Contents
Introduction 3
What is an Operating System 4
History of Operating Systems 6
What an Operating System Does 8
Process Management 9
Memory Management 13
Disk and File Systems 16
Networking 16
Security 16
Internal Security 18
External Security 18
Graphical User Interface 19
Device Drivers 19
Application Interface 20
Microsoft Windows 22
Mac OS 29
UNIX 33
Linux 35
GNU 37
Other Operating Systems 38
Installing an Operating System 39
Defining the Processes 43
Cache 43
Virtual Memory 48
System Resources 50
RAM 51
Computer Memory 55
Conclusion 60 ... Read more

Product Description

As in earlier Addison-Wesley books on the UNIX-based BSD operating system, Kirk McKusick and George Neville-Neil deliver here the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and authoritative technical information on the internal structure of open source FreeBSD. Readers involved in technical and sales support can learn the capabilities and limitations of the system; applications developers can learn effectively and efficiently how to interface to the system; system administrators can learn how to maintain, tune, and configure the system; and systems programmers can learn how to extend, enhance, and interface to the system.

The authors provide a concise overview of FreeBSD's design and implementation. Then, while explaining key design decisions, they detail the concepts, data structures, and algorithms used in implementing the systems facilities. As a result, readers can use this book as both a practical reference and an in-depth study of a contemporary, portable, open source operating system.

This book:

• Details the many performance improvements in the virtual memory system
• Describes the new symmetric multiprocessor support
• Includes new sections on threads and their scheduling
• Introduces the new jail facility to ease the hosting of multiple domains
• Updates information on networking and interprocess communication

Already widely used for Internet services and firewalls, high-availability servers, and general timesharing systems, the lean quality of FreeBSD also suits the growing area of embedded systems. Unlike Linux, FreeBSD does not require users to publicize any changes they make to the source code.

Customer Reviews (10)

Best Linux book for advanced learners
A very good book for those who want to learn advanced concepts in OS. Since it is a open source the book is very useful in understanding how they look like. The paper quality is too good, which makes u read non stop. i luv reading this book. Price worth it. A good buy.

Very nice and complete introduction book
Before I encountered this book it was quite a bit of frustration in attempt to learn BSD and UNIX to the point I can really use it. For some reason there so many good books in a subject with one of two inclinations: or the book is too theoretical and very little of the real workflow provided or it is too down to earth and it is difficult to understand what is behind the sophisticated command line zingers.
I found this book to be well balanced, well written and generally providing good, accessible way to get into BSD. I have followed advise in someone's review here and coupled this book with Linux and UNIX for a beginner training suite, 4DVDs + 2CDs includes 4 Unix Academy Certifications ed.2008. To my great surprise I have to say they really have made an outstanding training outfit!
If you really ready for a training and do not expect that UNIX will come to you overnight it is worthy book and deserves your attention.

Highly recommended for learning how a kernel works in practice
First of all you should be warned that this is not an introduction to get started with UNIX kernel programming. The Design of the UNIX Operating System by M.J. Bach provides a good general introduction to UNIX kernel programming. The design and implementation of the FreeBSD operating system is an excellent book to deepen knowledge of the UNIX kernel by looking how a current UNIX is implemented in practice. Even if you plan to write code for another kernel, working through the FreeBSD kernel with this book as a guide is a good excercise to become consious of the fundamental problems and solutions in kernel design. FreeBSD (or any of the other BSDs) is a good starting point, because the BSDs have relatively stable kernel subsystems and APIs due to the long cycles in BSD development.

The writing style of the authors is to the point (don't expect a novel) and clear. The troff typesetting of the book gives it a consistent style and simple, but clear diagrams (though I heard that some diagrams were hand-drawn). The book doesn't just drop the reader in a kernel subsystem. The second chapter gives a detailed explanation of the various kernel subsystems, and the relation between the subsystems. The third chapter gives a summary of what is expected from a kernel from the user level. Combined these two chapters give the reader the necessary conception of the FreeBSD kernel to start looking at individual parts of the kernel in detail. Most remaining chapters are logically ordered, in that subsystems are ordered from parts with less dependencies to parts with more dependencies (e.g. memory management and I/O are covered before filesystems).

If you are interested in UNIX programming, you should have this book on your bookshelf (as well as a CVS checkout of the FreeBSD kernel tree to read the implementation).

The OTHER freeOS explained
A BSD Bible. I never could read the Bible. I do Believe ...

650+ pages of truth and gore. I (as a sysadmin and BSD boomer) related most to the History (Ch.1) and Startup/Shutdown (final Ch.14). Memory management and other gore escapes me. GOOD JOB!

Very good work
For the other side of the story, you may wish to check out the most recent "Inside Microsoft Windows" or "Microsoft Windows Internals" by Mark Russinovich. ... Read more

Product Description
An operating system text that uses Linux and POSIX Threads to illustrate concepts. Topics include shell programming, concurrent programming, scheduling, file systems, resource management, the world-wide web, I/O programming, protection and store management.All examples execute in Linux as well as Apple OS/X.

The author has thirty years experience in systems software.He has taught operating systems and distributed computing at Vanderbilt, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia Southern.Cook has worked at Microsoft in the position of Software Architect, Sun Microsystems and NASA and has consulted world-wide. ... Read more

Product Description
The third edition of Operating Systems has been entirely updated to reflect current core operating system concepts and design considerations. To complement the discussion of operating system concepts, the book features two in-depth case studies on the latest operating systems, including Linux and Windows XP. The case studies follow the outline of the book, so readers working through the chapter material can refer to each case study to see how a particular topic is handled in either Linux or Windows XP. Using Java code to illustrate key points, Operating Systems introduces processes, concurrent programming, deadlock and indefinite postponement, mutual exclusion, physical and virtual memory, file systems, disk performance, distributed systems, security and more. New to this edition are a chapter on multithreading and extensive treatments of distributed computing, multiprocessing, performance, and computer security.An ideal up-to-date book for beginner operating systems readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Good condition, quickly received
I received this book in very good condition(a few bent pages but nothing extreme), and very quickly.

The Best of Two Great Books on Operating Systems.

This was for me, a required college text and is likely the better of the two texts used for college courses on Operating System fundamentals.Coverage includes not only well illustrated textual explanations and explorations of those fundamentals, but sample code as well.It's a good text.It is one of two texts on the topic that I am aware of and I feel it is the better of the two, but that's a subjective opinion.It would be a worthwhile recommend to evaluate them both. The other book is Operating System Concepts by Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne.

Good book for the subject matter
I used this book for an OS course i took at a community college. The subject matter is voluminous and the book covers it pretty well. I wish there were solutions to the many exercise problems. This will surely help in the learning process. Some authors/publishers provide additional resources on a student companion website. While the book does have such a site - the content is not very useful at all (just a bunch of ppt slides summarizing each chapter!).
Overall a great book. I learnt a lot about OS without much of a CS background

Nice product
I am happy that i bought it. It's a paperback version of third edition. Saved a lots of money

An excellent text in operating systems, there is more than you need for a semester course
In my career, I have taught mathematics and computer science at the college level, developed and delivered courses in corporate training, taught classes in community education and occasionally engage in private tutoring. In the rapidly changing field of computer science, if you do not study, study and study, it will not take long before you are no longer on the cutting edge. While the continued existence of programming languages such as COBOL and other legacy systems does provide employment, they are not circumstances one should rely on for a long-term livelihood. Therefore, I am always trolling for new and better material for use as textbooks or for self-study. Having taught a CS major course in operating systems several times in the last decade, I have a natural interest in this book.
I found it to be very detailed and complete, while most students will probably skip the historical notes, they do provide excellent reference points concerning the development of operating systems. I would use some of them as starting points for in-class discussions of how some of the critical problems in operating systems development were solved. A few self-review questions with answers appear at the end of each section. The following items are included at the end of each chapter:

*) A list of web resources
*) A summary of the chapters
*) A list of the key terms
*) An extensive set of exercises (no solutions provided)
*) A list of suggested programming projects
*) A list of suggested simulations
*) An extensive set of references

As befits the trends in computing, a great deal of time is spent on multiprocessing and distributed environments. Coded solutions to many of these problems are explained and Java is the language used to simulate the solutions. The last two chapters are case studies of the Linux and Windows XP operating systems.
At this time I am not teaching operating systems and do not know when I will teach it again. When I teach a class again after some time away from it, I generally make a list of my top three candidates for the text and select the one I consider the best. At this time, this book would be on that list of three.
... Read more

Product Description
Principles of Modern Operating Systems presents a practical introduction to operating systems and illustrates these principles through a hands-on approach using accompanying simulation models developed in Java and C++.The text is primarily appropriate for undergraduate courses in computer science at the junior/senior level.Case studies throughout the textfeature the implementation of Java and C++ simulation models, giving students a thorough look at both the theoretical and the practical concepts.This pedagogical approach is designed to present a clearer, more understandable, more practical look at OS concepts, techniques, and methods without sacrificing the theoretical rigor that is necessary at this level. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

If you want to know the ins and outs of operating systems...
... do not get this book. It uses dated information despite its newness, gives silly information (yes, author, I know people can buy hard drives with 20 GB or more space), and is all-around useless. Go for Modern Operating Systems (3rd Edition) (GOAL Series) if you actually want to learn something.

I'd say this book is better suited as doorstop than as a textbook.

Horrible OS book. Do not buy under any circumstances.
This is an absolutely horrible book. The book's teaching strategy is centered around many verbose OS simulation outputs. I would gather that ~50% of the books text is output from the CD's simulation package. I must also mention that the simulation package itself is exceedingly buggy and inaccurate.

I can not stress enough how bad this book is. If an instructor ever "requires" this book, DO NOT BUY IT. Buy a different operating system book, seriously. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Exploring the Pick Operating System
This is the best book that I have found for PICK. I've worked with PICK for 26 years and recommend this book or loan one of my two copies to anyone just learning PICK.Get it and keep it. ... Read more

Product Description
An important two-volume series, the first volume describes each step of the design and decision making process, while Volume II adds internetworking and user interface software. Professional software programmers can learn how protocol software fits into an operating system and how VAX software works as well. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Excellent resource for the homebrew OS developer!
This book explains the core concepts of operating system development in great detail.This is an excellent read and the source code is actually readable.This helped me out a *ton* when learning about multi-tasking.

I'd recommend this book to CS majors, hobby/homebrew operating system developers, and anyone with an interest of how operating systems work and how they are developed.

I also recommend the next volume of this book (Inter-Networking).

Must have for your toolbox
The text provides insight into the structure of many OS's, which can easily be used to understand other systems.It's clear and simple to understand, even though it's circa 1983!A must have for anyone working with embedded OS.Search the web for full source, which is readily available.The section on drivers and interfacing is especially usefull.

Excellent book for embedded goodies
Embedded processor are becoming more powerfull and popular. Even a small embedded processor can compete with the first PC's. Because of this, there is a great demand for OS's for these processors. This is were Xinu comes in (Full multitasking kernel, filesystem, semaphores, timers, device drivers...) and best of all, it is not resource hungry (<12k flash with a minimum of 4K ram).

Bottom line is that this is an excellent book to teach you the basic's of OS's. This book is worth having..

Not Useful
This book focuses exclusively on XINU, the OS written mainly by Comer. I will say this book is useful in the time when there was no open source, decent OS, however with the advent of Linux, I can't see any reason to study XINU anymore. Although XINU has most of the functions a modern OS should possess, there is essentially NO application written for this OS and it is only used by a handful of universities in their OS courses(for example, Purdue University, WL). If you really want to learn OS, I would recommend you to learn Linux which has relatively superior documentations(and is far more useful and stable than XINU). Some universities also used other experimental OSs like Nachos. I know nothing much on these OSs, therefore I make no comments.

Some people might argue Linux is far too complex and intimidating for beginners to study, well this is true in view of the current Linux kernel, however the instructor should be able to remove the superfluous components in the kernel. The basic kernel is not hard to comprehend at all.

Disappointing but informative...I take back that statement.
For the most part this book is informative. If you have no idea of how a basic Operating System functions, or what it's responsibilities are, then this book will definitely clue you in. However, this book seemed to fall short of what the writers promised. For example, the version of XINU described in this book boots from DOS. I am suspicious of any operating system that boots from another operating system and then uses the services of it...it reminds me of Microsoft Windows 3.1. The OS also uses and relies on some of the PC's BIOS routines and services. While that technique makes the OS portable on different PCs, it limits its use only to PCs and hides a lot of operations that (in my opinion) should be shown. After reading it a few times, I found that the book was quite helpful after all. The OS has been ported to many other CPU's. The full source code can be found on the internet. The OS is quite powerful but still is simple (I was able to port the code to run on a 68010 project of mine; seeing the ported versions and the book's theory was enough to guide me). A decent book, it doesn't describe an operating system 'from the ground up', but comes close to it. Sure there are other operating systems out there with open source, but how many of those tell you what each function of the code does and what role these functions play in a OS? ... Read more

Product Description
* Hardware/Software Partitioning * Cross-Platform Development * Firmware Debugging * Performance Analysis * Testing & Integration Get into embedded systems programming with a clear understanding of the development cycle and the specialized aspects of

Understand the embedded systems development cycle and the specialized aspects of writing software in this environment. You get clear explanations of how cross-development environments work, software/hardware integration techniques, and the key methods and technologies for each phase of the development process. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Nice focus on design considerations and development tools
This introductory text includes more than the basics.It continues into some intermediate information that should be fundamental knowledge for all embedded systems designers and developers.With advances in development tools and massive increases system complexity, these basics are often overlooked because developers become more cubby-holed into specific, well-defined roles on a project.They can lose sight of the fact that they are designing/coding an embedded system, with all the differences from desktops or larger systems that have more extensive and faster system resources.Understanding these fundamentals will help cast their work in a more appropriate perspective.

Many vital and expected topics are included, such as memory mapping, architecture, coding the hardware, design tools, etc. Berger includes other topics such as the "From the Trenches" vignettes based on his own experiences, that give concrete examples to illustrate several concepts.

A good discussion is the concept of hardware/software partitioning, an early architecture decision that affects the entire development program down the line.This is often overlooked - once the design team has decided to implement a function in hardware, for example, it may often be impossible to upgrade the functionality. Sometimes bugs in hardware may be compensated for in FPGAs and in software, but this is not an ideal contingency plan.

Berger spends significant time on debugging and testing, two critical aspects of the development cycle whose effective approach is usually the difference between an on-time delivery and a lower quality product.

A definite read!

Lisa Simone If I Only Changed the Software, Why is the Phone on Fire?: Embedded Debugging Methods Revealed: Technical Mysteries for Engineers

Introductory book which skips the technical details
A book for someone who is developing first embedded system(s).Limited coverage, but has some good references at the end of each chapter that might be helpful to the reader.

Practically Useless
Maybe it would be beneficial to a marketing team, but I'm an engineer and I found the book totally useless.

A Good Introductory Text
This book offers a clear view of the embedded system design process. If you are a newcomer, it can help you clear up the mystery and it is a easy reading. If you have been through a embedded project from ground up, this is not the book for you. Even though I like this book, it lacks of depth and the text closed up in a hurry.

Good for beginners
Good for beginners. Really valuable if you are out of college and in need of directions in this field. The references in the end of each chapter are quite useful. It will give you directions but do not expect any deep/serious discussions about the topics it is supposed to cover. ... Read more