The Linux(R) Kernel Primer: A Top-Down Approach for x86 and PowerPC Architectures (Prentice Hall Open Source Software Development Series) (Paperback)

by Claudia Salzberg Rodriguez (Author), Gordon Fischer (Author), Steven Smolski (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

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http://aplawrence.com/Books/kernel-primer.html

 

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I've been less than happy with other kernel books I've read. Admittedly,it's a difficult subject: there's a lot to cover, and you really need quite a bit of programming and general Unix knowledge before you could even consider jumping into this area. But I have the background,have even written simple Unix drivers, and yet every other kernel programming book has disappointed me.

It's all so overwhelming: there are conventions and quirks that have developed over time and surely are second nature to the people who have been doing Linux kernels for years, but these things are baffling to the newcomer.

This book tries to get you past that. The authors specifically say that they have tried to cover the things that confused them when they first started looking at the kernel. I'm sure their efforts aren't perfect, but the effort does definitely show.

The authors present several programming projects to help explore the kernel concepts, and every chapter has review questions to help firm up your understanding. The approach is from user space when possible: the assumption is that you are comfortable with application programming and that is used as the base to lead you down into the work done by the kernel for your programs. There's plenty of annotated source code here, both for x86 and PowerPC architectures. The inclusion of PowerPC information was an unexpected bonus; other books I've read have usually ignored that entirely or glossed it over quickly.

Of course you need a background in C, and while this does try to cover general kernel subjects, it wouldn't hurt to have at least some prior reading there. A little familiarity with hardware and light assembly language will help also, although the authors do give some coverage there.

I'm looking forward to spending more time exploring this book.

 

Product Description
Top Reasons people will buy this book: -Covers Linux on PPC -Top-down approach traces functionality from user space into the kernel -Lots of code commentary and examples. It walks you through the actual source code implementation. -Side by side comparison of x86 and PPC -Hands on Examples and Projects -Covers the kernel build system. The "Linux Kernel Primer" offers a comprehensive view of the underpinnings of the Linux kernel. This book starts with a guide of the necessary tools a developer needs to be able to understand and manipulate the source code including cryptic programming fundamentals found throughout the kernel code. It then follows up with an in depth analysis of the major subsystems including process management, memory management, scheduling, I/O, and filesystems. This book also provides information necessary to get started developing on the Linux kernel. The specifics of Intel and PowerPC architecture implementations are covered side by side providing perspective on architecture specific features and how Linux make use of them. Similar in approach to Kernighan's "Practice of Programming" 020161586X

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Product Details

• Paperback: 648 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; annotated edition edition (September 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131181637
• ISBN-13: 978-0131181632
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #541,065 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a good Kernel book, October 5, 2005

By	Anthony Lawrence "Unix, Linux and Mac OS X" (Middleboro, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been less than happy with other kernel books before, so when this landed in my mailbox, I was prepared for disappointment. I've been down this road: it's too overwhelming a subject, authors typically assume far too much prior knowledge, and I'm left feeling puzzled and confused.

Well, the subject is overwhelming, and it really can't be covered in one book. But you have to start somewhere, and this looks like the best place I've seen so far. Yes, of course you'll need and want other books, and you'll need to spend a lot of time experimenting on your own, but this is (as the title says) your primer: the book that introduces and explains all the confusing little conventions and quirks that you need to know to avoid being totally lost.

I really like the approach of trying to relate everything to user space programs and of writing example code and drivers to illustrate concepts. The authors have also made an effort to point out and elucidate the things that confused them when they first started looking at the kernel.

Every chapter has at least a few review questions at the end, and lots of annotated source code. Four projects get you started with actual kernel programming.

There are, of course, ommissions and lightly covered areas. Six hundred pages aren't enough to cover everything in depth, and there has to be at least some basic assumption of programming knowledge. But overall, this looks great and I'm looking forward to spending more time with it.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent linux kernel intro, January 9, 2006

By	wag, a dog "not lad" (texas) - See all my reviews

Really appreciate the detailed comparison of x86 and PPC assembler, description of analysis tools, and the exercises. The exercises are extremely useful to determine whether or not you actually need to read a chapter. The book assumes you're going to do a lot of hands-on exploration and analysis while you're reading, and gears a lot of its examples and exercises towards that activity. Between this, and the referrals back to the differences between an x86 and PPC implementation (when necessary) and the detailed blow-by-blow of booting may make it a better buy for the kernel newbie than the O'Reilly book Understanding the Linux Kernel.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars typos abound, January 26, 2007

By	Ryan W. Sims (New Carrollton, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A good basic intro to the linux kernel, pretty much exactly what I was looking for. I bought this to act as a primer before delving into Understanding the Linux Kernel, which is a much deeper and difficult work, and it's proved very satisfactory.

The major problem I have is that it seems not to have been proofread AT ALL. I have found at least a typo a page on average, and not just punctuation and spelling mistakes. Using the wrong name for a function, referring the reader to the wrong figure, chapter or section, that kind of typo. The design of the book (notational conventions, typefaces, how they display varible names vs. code blocks vs. normal text, etc) is quite inconsistent at times.

All in all, a good read, and a great intro, but very inconsistent and error-ridden; prepare to read it with oversight.