Operating systems are large and complex, and yet must function with near-absolute reliability--that's why they're a class unto themselves in the field of software development. Since its first release 20 years ago, "the dinosaur book"--Operating System Concepts by Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Baer Galvin, and Greg Gagne--has been a valuable reference for designers and implementers of operating systems. The newly released sixth edition of this book maintains the volume's authority with new sections on thread management, distributed processes, and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). There's also information on the workings of the latest crop of operating systems, including Microsoft Windows 2000, Linux, FreeBSD, and compact operating systems for handheld devices.

This book is concerned with the design of operating systems, which is to say it enumerates the problems that pop up in the creation of efficient systems and explores alternative ways of dealing with them, detailing the advantages and shortcomings of each. For example, in their chapter on scheduling CPU activity, the authors explain several algorithms (first-come, first-served, and round-robin scheduling, among others) for allocating the capacity of single and multiple processors among jobs. They highlight the relative advantages of each, and explain how several real-life operating systems solve the problem. They then present the reader with exercises (this book is essentially a university textbook) that inspire thought and discussion. --David Wall

Topics covered: The problems faced by designers of system software for electronic computers, and strategies that have been developed over the past 20 years to address (and, in some cases, solve) them. Problems of CPU scheduling, memory allocation, paging, processes and threads, storage management, distributed processes and storage mechanisms, and security are all discussed thoroughly and with many authoritative references.

From Book News, Inc.
A textbook for an introductory course in operating systems at the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate level, providing a clear description of the fundamental concepts that underlie operating systems. It assumes familiarity with general computer organization and a high-level language, such as PASCAL. This edition is revised to include new and updated information, examples, diagrams, and an expanded bibliography. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Book Description
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Silberschatz: Operating Systems Concepts, Sixth Edition, continues to provide a solid theoretical foundation for understanding operating systems. The Sixth Edition offers improved conceptual coverage and added content to bridge the gap between concepts and actual implementations. Threads has been added to this latest edition and includes coverage of Pthreads and Java threads. All code examples have been rewritten and are now in C. Increased coverage of small footprint operating systems such as PalmOS and real-time operating system, as well as a new chapter on Windows 2000, have been added.
Market: Computer Scientists; Programmers.

Book Info
A revised and expanded text on operating systems, offering new chapters on Threads and Windows 2000, small footprint operating systems for PDAs, and other technologies. Also includes coverage of Linux, FreeBSD, distributed operating systems, real-time operating systems, and new and expanded coverage of the client-server model and NFS. Previous edition: c1997.

From the Back Cover
For the past two decades, dinosaurs have roamed the cover of Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne's OPERATING SYSTEM CONCEPTS. The product of a long process of evolutionary adaptations, this best-selling text has continually evolved to address the latest trends in operating system design. With its strong emphasis on underlying concepts and rich selection of examples and case studies, no other text provides such a solid theoretical foundation for understanding operating systems.

Now in a fully revised and updated Sixth Edition, OPERATING SYSTEM CONCEPTS offers new chapters on Threads and Windows 2000, as well as new and expanded coverage of the client-server model and NFS, small footprint operating systems for PDAs, real-time operating systems, Linux, FreeBSD, distributed operating systems, and more.

FROM THE PUBLISHER