Linux Core Kernel Commentary [With CDROM]

I am reviewing the 2nd edition of this book, which talks about the 2.4.x kernels. This book is unusual in that a lot of it is just the Linux kernel source code; I was only interested in the content from the author, which is roughly the equivalent of a 250 page book. Having the source code as one monolithic printout is nice because the author can put a pointer to the code from the text rather than having to put a zillion code snippets inline with the text; I rarely read code snippets anyway.In this book I wanted to read about: what is the high level architecture of the kernel; what are the design details of its "core" elements; for each element, what are the key data structures and functions in its implementation; what are some examples of the use of those functions and data structures.For what I wanted, I think this book is great. I would not hesitate to compare it to the outstanding "Linux Device Drivers" and "Understanding the Linux Kernel" books. I don't know of any comparably high quality sources of this kind of information right now (it is December 2001), except for the also excellent "Linux 2.4 Kernel Internals" guide by Tigran Aivazian.For someone looking to see good documentation for a particular file in the kernel source code, I would say don't assume you are going to find it in this book. This book covers _some_ of the source. Also, it does not teach you how to interact with the kernel by writing network drivers, filesystem drivers, hardware device drivers, etc.

Am very impressed with its valuable content and liken it to Peter Norton's mid-80's computer books in that it is pleasurable to read while serving up the information I need. Unlike many of my other computer books which I now use as drink coasters, this text is shelved safely on my desk. I grab at it often as a reference. An excellent book. I look forward to further efforts by the author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to really know how a real OS works. Yes, the bulk of the book is Linux kernel source, but it has been nicely formated and the commentary alone is worth the price of the book. You also get the source on CD in a nicely browseable format.I think that some of the previous reviews are unfair. This book follows in the footsteps of the classic Lions book, which many Unix "old-timers" cherish. If flipping back and forth is too much effort to learn an OS - either you are brilliant enough to understand kernel source at first glance or you should stick to working with things that have on-screen help. If it is too much to pay someone thirty+ bucks to have kernel source conveniently packaged so that you can read it late at night on the sofa, perhaps you won't really appreciate what you are getting.I'd like to thank Scott Maxwell for the service he has done for the Linux community - too many OS books are written so abstractly that they might as well be written on parchment in Old English.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to really know how a real OS works. Yes, the bulk of the book is Linux kernel source, but it has been nicely formated and the commentary alone is worth the price of the book. You also get the source on CD in a nicely browseable format.I think that some of the previous reviews are unfair. This book follows in the footsteps of the classic Lions book, which many Unix "old-timers" cherish. If flipping back and forth is too much effort to learn an OS - either you are brilliant enough to understand kernel source at first glance or you should stick to working with things that have on-screen help. If it is too much to pay someone thirty+ bucks to have kernel source conveniently packaged so that you can read it late at night on the sofa, perhaps you won't really appreciate what you are getting.I'd like to thank Scott Maxwell for the service he has done for the Linux - too many OS books are written so abstractly that they might as well be written on parchment in Old English.

The commentary is clear and illuminating. As one reads it, one must constantly flip back and forth to the first part of the book, but that's ok. The guided tour through the kernel internals is well worth the price of admission. Highly recommended for any serious programmer curious about the Linux kernel.