Operating System Concepts by Abraham Silberschatz

This book is very bias toward Linux with the occasional reference to Windows. I would say some of the material is just wrong – perhaps they do this to make it easier to understand. For example, they talk about OS security models and talk about “layers” – however while they are technically layers the industry calls them rings (look up ring -1). In Chapter 2 – they mention a lot of system calls – many of them are just wrong. For example – 2.4.1 – there is no end system call (they might have meant exit). 2.4.2 – they mention a “delete” system call; there is no delete system call but there is a remove or unlink system calls (at least in Linux). Again reading through Chapter 2 they are obviously very bias towards Linux…which there isn’t anything necessarily wrong with that but the material they put together can actually be dangerous because to a new person who didn’t know anything about system calls (or a professor teaching out of this book) may make people believe there are system calls that don’t exist or terms that aren’t used. Maybe they were just using it as an example – but personally if I were to write a book I would use terms, concepts, and system calls that were actually used such that if someone wanted to find more information they could google them.

I gave it 3 stars because I think it’s a great starting point – just needs to be reviewed a little bit. This book has a lot of great information and I think it does a pretty good job explaining things so it’s great for someone who may not understand how an OS works.

Also as an aside note – I was disappointed when the index entry for “page address extension (PAE) has 396 – but that points to a blank page….

I purchased the Kindle version of this textbook. I like that Kindle version’s format adheres to the same page numbering as the actual textbook, which simplifies navigating the book’s content. The organization of the material is logical and sequential. Information is worded in simple, easy to understand sentences, with important terms and concepts emphasized in a blue-colored font. None of the information is discussed using cryptic or archaic terminology. The asides and coding examples in the textbook are excellent; they really hit the nail on the head in reinforcing the material and/or demonstrating how a concept is represented programmatically. For those who are visual learners, this book is for you. You get your money’s worth in figures, illustrations, diagrams, etc. Additionally, the author exceeded my expectations in his ability to explain the features of specific popular operating systems, provide OS-specific code implementations, and identify the similarities and differences between them. I also appreciate the author’s choice to use female pronouns- little things like that mean a lot!

Here is who I would recommend this book for: at a bare minimum, someone who has learned the fundamentals of the C programming language. Ideally, this book would better suit someone who has also learned about basic software development, data structure, and algorithm principles (in any language) in addition to either introductory-level computer systems/organization.

Purchased this book to enhance my understanding on Operating Systems.

Content :
This book is bible for operating system knowledge. It covers very important concepts of Process Management and Memory Management. This book is good for all type of readers – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced reader. Highly recommended for Students/Professionals/Readers who want to enhance their knowledge.

Book Quality :
Book quality is excellent. Cover is bright and shiny. Paper is good and its ink is good too. Images used in this good are of very clear quality and easily understandable. Overall very good quality.

Overall very much satisfied with the product.

Loving this book. Had to purchase for my Operating Systems Theory class. When I saw that the regular edition cost over 100 bucks I was ready to grit my teeth and just buy it. Then I heard about the Indian edition which was insanely cheaper so I bought it without a second thought. Shipping was fast and the book is high quality. Some people complain the pages are too thin and you can’t concentrate because the text bleeds through; while the paper is thinner, I am not distracted by the very light bleed that comes through. Maybe if you hold a single page up to the light and try to read them you’ll get distracted…

As for content, this book is great. After finishing a particularly long chapter, I found myself continuing to read simply because I was feeling more curious about what the author would talk about next.

This edition is great!

Me parece uno de los mejores libros para explicar los conceptos de los sistemas operativos, pero su precio me parece elevado.

I like reading this book. The authors did a pretty decent job taking a hard subject and writing about in a way I could understand, and organizing the sections in a way that builds your knowledge. My professor gave us a number of hard programming assignments in C that followed the book as well and reinforced that knowledge. So if you use this book within the right system, it can be very good. I don’t think it would be easy for a beginner to just read however. You really need to dive into some of the things that you read about and get your hands dirty to gain the full value from this book. My graduate class was able to cover 6 chapters completely plus a spattering from a few other chapters in one semester. It was a very worthwhile class.