Linux Core Kernel Commentary: Guide to Insider's Knowledge on the Core Kernel of the Linux Code (Paperback)

by Scott Maxwell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Adopts and extends the method used by the famous Lion's Commentary on Unix, (ISBN 1-57398-013-7) which still is a much sought after title even 20 years after publication. Uses a horizontal format (11" x 8 3/8" trim size) which allows for exhaustive cross-referencing, space for easy-to-read columns of code, and the book to stay flat while open. Over 39,000 lines of code are excerpted and explained in detail. Includes extensive cross-referencing and architectural flow charts to enhance understanding of the structure of the code. Linux Core Kernel Commentary is currently the only commentary-style book available on the Linux core kernel. Covers the newest 2.2 version of the Linux kernel, released in January 1999.

About the Author
Scott Maxwell (Pasadena, CA) holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and English from East Carolina University.Since 1994, he has been a Unix software developer at the JetPropulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. He has used Unix since 1990 and Linux since early 1997.

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Coriolis Group Books (October 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576104699
• ISBN-13: 978-1576104699
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,374,486 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The right book for the right purpose, June 16, 2000

By	Gregory Ercolano (California, USA) - See all my reviews

The book is *extremely* useful for understanding the linux kernel operation, when away from your terminal. Although I agree with some of the nit-picks in the reviews below (and have a few of my own) I would not give the book a *bad* review.

Yes, it follows the format of the John Lions "Commentary On UNIX 6th Edition", showing the source code (with line numbers) first, followed by in depth commentary (with references to line numbers). An extremely good format. Too bad they missed some aspects of the Lions format, such as cross reference tables, and using a fixed number of lines per page.

The source code is easily 2/3's of the book. However, it's necessarily included to a) let the source speak for itself as much as possible, and b) to freeze the code for the annotated cross references, since the linux source is in constant flux.

Organizationally the book is missing a few things. In fact, frustratingly so because they could have made many things easier if they'd only followed the wisdom of the Lions book;

1) A line number/subroutine/filename cross reference table. This is an *important* aspect of the original Lions.

2) It would be nice if the line numbers had anything to do with the page numbers, since the line numbers aren't a fixed number per-page (In Lions there were 50 lines per page, so it was easy to scan for line numbers by flipping pages; 4500, 4550.. the linux book numbers jump all over; 13211, 13403.. yuck!)

3) Each page should have a title at the top indicating which file is being listed. Again, see Lions..! As it is, you have to flip all around looking for section headings, which incidentally appear in random positions on pages.

4) Someone should have taken the trouble to embolden function headings. It's important to identify the start of subroutine headings. The Lions book didn't need this because the AT&T code was easier to determine function headings due to their commenting style

Regardless, the Linux book is very handy for studying the kernel in an offline manner. They should've done a little more for the reader, though. But thankfully, the source speaks for itself.

The kernel version is 2.2.5; it says so in the Introduction on page xv. Granted, it doesn't say it on the cover, it probably should :/ Also, this book is intended for core kernel (scheduling, processes, filesystem), not for device drivers. DD's would be nice, but in a whole different book! I don't fault them for that.

Certainly a hyperlinked version of the source on the CD would've been nice. However, I did get one hell of a kick out of the oldest version of the linux code on the CD as well as the current; a pleasant surprise for me, esp. in the context of this book! Very revealing about how the kernel developed.

I hope in the second edition, the authors take our comments into account.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your money!, January 15, 2000

By	Gary Murphy "radio free sauble" (Sauble Beach, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just got my copy of Core Kernel Commentary ... and was I ripped off or what! I just paid to get a bound copy of the Kernel source code!

Yes, I am serious. 414 pages out of 561 are just a printout of the kernel source code (minus the service modules) with line numbers. I just paid for a 150-page book. Colour me unimpressed.

I've only peeked at the remaining 150 pages; the architecture diagrams are pretty much verbatim from the free LHG and the 'annotations' are little one-paragraph restatements of the comments with the odd tidbit here and there, but unless you plan to read it cover to cover, there is no clear organization to the information. Even the CD is useless, it's just 5 editions of the kernel sources with TAG files (jump to a line number given a source code token) ... even if the CD just had the sources with hyperlinks to these 'annotations' it might be mildly useful.

This one is going back.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful for some purposes, July 22, 2000

By	J. M. Newman "dukeofwinds" (Flushing, NY, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a book that may prove useful to some. It contains a chunk of the Linux kernel source code in printed form and some commentary on the code. It has been pointed out that one can get the kernel code for free very easily. This is true. However, the commentary does add some value to this book, as there are some valuable explanations of some interesting areas of the Linux kernel. My favorite is the chapter on kernel memory management, which includes a nice explanation of the conditions that trigger the fearsome Segmentation Fault.
The commentary in this book is sketchy in places and is focused on the x86 architecture where processor architecture matters. I found that the commentary was fairly useful overall and therefore I could justify the price of the book. I also appreciate, as another reviewer mentioned, the nicely bound hardcopy of the source code so that I can thumb it without being in front of my computer.
Thus, I would recommend this book to people who would like to: a) learn more about how Linux works, b) speak fluent C, and c) feel they need a bit more information than the kernel comments and documentation provide in order to really understand the code. This is not a book for novice programmers! This is not a book for Uber-Hackers, either. This is a book for in-between types, like myself (I have three years professional experience and have been casually fiddling with computers for more than ten years).