Operating Systems

Book excerpt: For a one-semester undergraduate course in operating systems for computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering majors. Winner of the 2009 Textbook Excellence Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA)! Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles is a comprehensive and unified introduction to operating systems. By using several innovative tools, Stallings makes it possible to understand critical core concepts that can be fundamentally challenging. The new edition includes the implementation of web based animations to aid visual learners. At key points in the book, students are directed to view an animation and then are provided with assignments to alter the animation input and analyze the results. The concepts are then enhanced and supported by end-of-chapter case studies of UNIX, Linux and Windows Vista. These provide students with a solid understanding of the key mechanisms of modern operating systems and the types of design tradeoffs and decisions involved in OS design. Because they are embedded into the text as end of chapter material, students are able to apply them right at the point of discussion. This approach is equally useful as a basic reference and as an up-to-date survey of the state of the art.