Three decades ago, Linus Torvalds, a Finnish student studying computer science at the University of Helsinki was tinkering with his project not knowing the impact it would make in the world a few years later. Looking at cloud statistics, it is evident that most servers around the globe are running on Linux and so much more continues to thrive as a result of its presence. Beginning as a fun project, Linux has burgeoned with startlingly rapid progress now being contributed by thousands of developers around the globe.
If you have ever wondered how it all comes together, how Linux works and what it entails, then having a good look at its documentation, books and other resources is worth your while. At the same time, having the skills required to tackle, improve and patch Linux can be quite amazing to the users of the Kernel around the world.
Everyone who knows the value that Linux has brought into the world of tech, will ambitiously encourage everyone to contribute to future successes coming. You can add your ideas and code after mastering the Linux Kernel and how it all works using the following books.
1. Understanding the Linux Kernel
Marco Cesati received a degree in mathematics in 1992 and a PhD in computer science (the University of Rome, “La Sapienza”) in 1995. Dan who got a Ph.D. in computer science at UCLA in 1968, was so fascinated by the accomplishments of Linus Torvalds and his followers that he spent the last few years trying to unravel some of Linux’s mysteries. It seemed natural, after all that work, to write a book about what he found.
The third edition of Understanding the Linux Kernel takes you on a guided tour of the most significant data structures, algorithms, and programming tricks used in the kernel. Probing beyond superficial features, the authors offer valuable insights to people who want to know how things really work inside their machines. Important Intel-specific features are discussed. Relevant segments of code are dissected line by line. But the book covers more than just the functioning of the code; it explains the theoretical underpinnings of why Linux does things the way it does.
This edition of the book covers Version 2.6, which has seen significant changes to nearly every kernel subsystem, particularly in the areas of memory management and block devices. The book focuses on the following topics:
- Memory management, including file buffering, process swapping, and Direct Memory Access (DMA)
- The Virtual Filesystem layer and the Second and Third Extended Filesystems
- Process creation and scheduling
- Signals, interrupts, and the essential interfaces to device drivers
- Timing
- Synchronization within the kernel
- Interprocess Communication (IPC)
- Program execution
2. Linux Kernel Development 3rd Edition
Robert Love is an open-source programmer, speaker, and author who has been using and contributing to Linux for more than 15 years. He is currently a senior software engineer at Google, where he was a member of the team that developed the Android mobile platform’s kernel.
The author, a core kernel developer, shares valuable knowledge and experience on the 2.6 Linux kernel. Specific topics covered include process management, scheduling, time management and timers, the system call interface, memory addressing, memory management, the page cache, the VFS, kernel synchronization, portability concerns, and debugging techniques.
The book details the major subsystems and features of the Linux kernel, including its design, implementation, and interfaces. It covers the Linux kernel with both a practical and theoretical eye, which should appeal to readers with a variety of interests and needs.