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Editorial Reviews
Review
From the Back Cover
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Link:
http://aplawrence.com/Books/kernel-primer.html
Full Text:
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.
From the Back Cover
Learn Linux kernel programming, hands-on: a uniquely effective top-down approach
The Linux® Kernel Primer is the definitive guide to Linux kernel programming. The authors' unique top-down approach makes kernel programming easier to understand by systematically tracing functionality from user space into the kernel and carefully associating kernel internals with user-level programming fundamentals. Their approach helps you build on what you already know about Linux, gaining a deep understanding of how the kernel works and how its elements fit together.
One step at a time, the authors introduce all the tools and assembly language programming techniques required to understand kernel code and control its behavior. They compare x86 and PowerPC implementations side-by-side, illuminating cryptic functionality through carefully-annotated source code examples and realistic projects. The Linux® Kernel Primer is the first book to offer in-depth coverage of the rapidly growing PowerPC Linux development platform, and the only book to thoroughly discuss kernel configuration with the Linux build system. Coverage includes
Data structures
x86 and PPC assembly language
Viewing kernel internals
Linux process model
User and kernel space
Interrupts and exceptions
Memory allocation and tracking
Tracing subsystem behavior
I/O interactions
Filesystems and file operations
Scheduling and synchronization
Kernel boot process
Kernel build system
Configuration options
Device drivers
And more...
If you know C, this book teaches you all the skills and techniques you need to succeed with Linux kernel programming. Whether you're a systems programmer, software engineer, systems analyst, test professional, open source project contributor, or simply a Linux enthusiast, you'll find it indispensable.
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