Customer Reviews

Posix.4 Programmers Guide: Programming for the Real World

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gallmeister splits this book into two main sections, an introduction to the material and a reference section, which provides detailed documentation for the various function calls and header files. Somebody new to the material will find the first section indispensable, while the pro will flip to the reference section to answer questions.

Chapter one provides an overview of the problems this book addresses. The second chapter examines POSIX, POSIX options, and POSIX namespaces. Chapters 3 - 6 define real-time problems and POSIX.4 solutions. Chapter 7 considers the issues of real-time performance.

Gallmeister provides many example code fragments to illustrate his points. He would have done better to have annotated his examples, instead of writing a number of descriptive paragraphs after each fragment. A particularly useful feature is his discussion of "current UNIX practice."

Overall, this book provides a reasonable introduction to the concepts of real-time programming, and a number of "recipe" examples for the POSIX environment. Recommended if you'd like to develop real-time skills or need a reference work on the subject. I found it useful learning to develop QNX software, even though QNX implements a number of "optional" features differently.

The book consists of 2 parts. The 1st part is a detailed guide to the real-time POSIX programming. The 2nd part presents a reference to all POSIX real-time functions. The book also has an appendix with various sample and exercise code.

All explanations in the first part are very clear and complete. Writing style resembles the best programming books (like those from K&R or R.Stevens). At the same time everything is given in a distilled manner without unnecessary water, so that you might handle the stuff surprisingly fast.

The second part is less valuable since all this material can be found in UNIX man. But if to see it as just a free bonus for the 1st part it is not bad at all. In any case having printed manuals is quite useful.

Sample code in the appendix is also interesting to look at.

Actually I didn't notice any considerable drawbacks in the book and recommend it to everyone interested in the subject.

The prerequisites are minimal. You should know C and be familiar with the basic UNIX/POSIX API (like working with files, etc.). The next reading is obvious - some book on POSIX threads (I'd recommend one by Mr. Butenhof).

If you know C and know UNIX, this book is for you. Simply put, he knows what he's writing about and he presents the material in a logical, methodical manner.
This book was written just before the POSIX4a standard was completed, so no PThreads are covered.
As long as you're not expecting PThreads coverage, you won't be disappointed. Most of the topics you need to know about mutli-threaded programming (besides PThreads) are here.

A very good tutorial and an excellent reference. I use the reference pages in the POSIX Programer's Guide for all of the normal library functions and I know my program will be portable. Also this book is real helpful for Most of the Unix User for Project.

This is the best book on the subject. One can tell that the author is an expert and knows very well what he is talking about.
Unlike one reviwer mentioned below - I dont think he has read any part of the book - this is not an "reasonable introduction" at all. This is an in depth handling of the topic.

I would have to second the other reviews of this truly exceptional text, I will rather merely add one more observation:

Apparently now in 2009 the book is out of print, it is dated by standards of the fast moving software industry and Unix development, surely the hardware is dramatically faster now, and yet while other books of that age cannot be sold for even symbolic $0.01, here the price soars to astonishing heights. Well deserved, get yourself a copy, the content is timeless and unique. We have yet to wait for an updated version of this or similar book with some more current description of real time, timers and sophisticated IO with Posix. Or is there? Sometimes some of the industry common API's endure generations unchanged, because their very stability is the benefit, and their generality does not enforce extensions.

A very good tutorial and an excellent reference. I use the reference pages in the POSIX Programmer's Guide for all of the normal library functions and I know my program will be portable. Also this book is real helpful for Most of the Unix User for Project.

POSIX is only one operating system standard in IEEE/IEC.
But now ISO have another oerating sysm standard, OSEK OS.
OSEK OS is more slight, simple and real time oriented.
Why Posix is not so portable and not so Open.
NIST made a POSIX Test Suite based on old POSIX standard.
But where is POSIX Test Suite based on new POSIX standard.
This book was based on old POSIX.
So, you can understand this with NIST posix test suite.