Modern Operating Systems: A Comprehensive and In-Depth Textbook by Andrew S. Tanenbaum
Modern Operating Systems 3rd Edition by Andrew S. Tanenbaum
If you are interested in learning about operating systems, you may have heard of Modern Operating Systems, a classic textbook written by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, one of the most influential computer scientists in the world. But what is this book about, and why should you read it? In this article, we will give you an overview of the book, its benefits, and how it compares with other books on operating systems. By the end of this article, you will have a clear idea of whether this book is right for you and how it can help you master the topic of operating systems.
modern operating systems 3rd edition andrew s tanenbaum
Introduction
Before we dive into the details of the book, let's first define what an operating system is, why it is important to study it, and what are the main features of modern operating systems.
What is an operating system?
An operating system (OS) is a software program that manages the hardware and software resources of a computer system. It provides a set of services and interfaces that allow users and applications to perform various tasks, such as creating files, running programs, accessing the internet, printing documents, etc. An operating system also handles the allocation and sharing of resources among different users and processes, such as memory, CPU, disk space, network bandwidth, etc. An operating system also ensures the security and reliability of the system by preventing unauthorized access, detecting errors, recovering from failures, etc.
Why study operating systems?
Operating systems are essential for the functioning of any computer system, from personal computers to smartphones to supercomputers. Studying operating systems can help you understand how computers work at a low level, how they interact with other devices and networks, how they support various applications and services, and how they cope with various challenges and demands. Studying operating systems can also help you develop skills in programming, problem-solving, debugging, testing, design, analysis, etc. Moreover, studying operating systems can expose you to many interesting and relevant topics in computer science, such as concurrency, synchronization, distributed systems, virtualization, security, etc.
What are the main features of modern operating systems?
Modern operating systems have evolved significantly over time to meet the changing needs and expectations of users and applications. Some of the main features of modern operating systems are:
Multiprogramming: This feature allows multiple programs to run simultaneously on a single processor or a multiprocessor system. Multiprogramming increases the utilization and efficiency of the CPU by switching among different programs according to their priority and resource requirements.
Multiuser: This feature allows multiple users to access and use the same computer system at the same time or at different times. Multiuser operating systems provide mechanisms for user authentication, authorization, accounting, protection, etc.
Multitasking: This feature allows a single user to run multiple applications or tasks concurrently on a single computer system. Multitasking enables users to perform various activities without waiting for one task to finish before starting another.
Real-time: This feature allows an operating system to respond to external events or stimuli within a specified time limit. Real-time operating systems are used for applications that require strict timing constraints, such as embedded systems, control systems, multimedia systems, etc.
Distributed: This feature allows an operating system to run on multiple computers that are connected by a network. Distributed operating systems enable users and applications to access and share resources and services across different machines, such as files, printers, databases, etc.
Overview of the book
Now that we have a basic understanding of what an operating system is and why it is important, let's take a look at the book Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum. In this section, we will describe the structure and organization of the book, the content and coverage of the book, and the target audience and prerequisites of the book.
Structure and organization
The book is divided into four parts, each consisting of several chapters. The four parts are:
Introduction: This part provides an overview of the history, structure, and functions of operating systems. It also introduces some fundamental concepts and terminology related to operating systems, such as processes, threads, scheduling, synchronization, deadlocks, memory management, virtual memory, file systems, input/output, etc.
Processes: This part focuses on the management and coordination of processes and threads in an operating system. It covers topics such as interprocess communication, classical synchronization problems, semaphores, monitors, message passing, remote procedure calls, distributed mutual exclusion, distributed deadlock detection, distributed agreement algorithms, etc.
Memory: This part deals with the allocation and protection of memory in an operating system. It covers topics such as segmentation, paging, swapping, demand paging, page replacement algorithms, working set model, thrashing, memory-mapped files, copy-on-write mechanism, shared memory segments, etc.
File Systems: This part discusses the design and implementation of file systems in an operating system. It covers topics such as file attributes, file operations, directory structures, file system implementation techniques, disk space management techniques, disk scheduling algorithms, disk reliability techniques, file system security and protection mechanisms, network file systems (NFS), distributed file systems (AFS), etc.
The book also includes two appendices that provide additional information on some topics related to operating systems. The appendices are:
The Mach System: This appendix describes the design and features of Mach, a microkernel-based operating system developed at Carnegie Mellon University in the 1980s and 1990s. Mach was one of the first operating systems to support multiprocessor systems and distributed computing.
The Windows 2000 System: This appendix describes the architecture and components of Windows 2000 (also known as Windows NT 5.0), a popular commercial operating system developed by Microsoft in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Windows 2000 was one of the first operating systems to support 32-bit and 64-bit processors and multiple user interfaces.
Content and coverage
The book covers a wide range of topics related to operating systems in a comprehensive and up-to-date manner. The book provides both theoretical and practical aspects of operating system design and implementation. The book also includes many examples and case studies from real-world operating systems to illustrate the concepts and techniques discussed in the book. The book also provides many exercises and projects at the end of each chapter to help readers test their understanding and apply their knowledge.
The book covers both traditional and modern topics in operating systems. Some of the traditional topics include process management (creation, termination, scheduling), synchronization (mutual exclusion, critical sections), deadlock (detection, prevention, avoidance), memory management (allocation, protection, virtualization), file systems (organization, implementation, security), input/output (devices, drivers, performance), etc. Some of the modern topics include distributed systems (communication, coordination, consensus), multiprocessor systems (symmetric, asymmetric), multicore systems (parallelism, concurrency), real-time systems (hard, soft), embedded systems (constraints, challenges), security (threats, mechanisms), virtualization (hypervisors, containers), cloud computing (services, models), etc. Target audience and prerequisites
> Operating System Concepts by Abraham Silberschatz, Peter Baer Galvin, and Greg Gagne, or Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles by William Stallings. This book covers more topics and concepts than most intermediate textbooks on operating systems, such as Operating Systems: A Modern Perspective by Gary Nutt, or Operating Systems: Principles and Practice by Thomas Anderson and Michael Dahlin. This book also provides more examples and case studies than most advanced textbooks on operating systems, such as Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment by W. Richard Stevens and Stephen A. Rago, or Distributed Systems: Concepts and Design by George Coulouris, Jean Dollimore, Tim Kindberg, and Gordon Blair. Therefore, this book can be considered as a comprehensive and in-depth textbook on operating systems that can suit different levels of readers.
Another difference between this book and other textbooks on operating systems is the style and approach. This book adopts a clear and concise style that makes it easy to read and understand. The book also uses a bottom-up approach that starts from the basics and builds up to more complex topics. The book also balances between theory and practice, providing both rigorous explanations and practical examples. The book also encourages readers to think critically and creatively, providing many exercises and projects that challenge them to apply their knowledge and skills. Therefore, this book can be considered as a user-friendly and engaging textbook on operating systems that can stimulate interest and curiosity.
How does it complement other resources?
While this book covers a wide range of topics and concepts related to operating systems, it does not cover everything. There are some topics and concepts that are beyond the scope of this book or are only briefly mentioned in this book. For example, this book does not cover topics such as mobile operating systems, embedded operating systems, real-time operating systems, security operating systems, etc. This book also does not cover some advanced or specialized topics in depth, such as distributed algorithms, concurrency models, virtual machine monitors, etc. Therefore, this book can be complemented by other resources that provide more information or details on these topics and concepts.
Some of the resources that can complement this book are:
Online courses: There are many online courses that offer lectures, videos, quizzes, assignments, etc. on operating systems or related subjects. Some of the popular online courses are Introduction to Operating Systems by Georgia Tech on Udacity, Operating Systems and You: Becoming a Power User by Google on Coursera, Operating Systems Engineering by MIT on edX, etc.
Online tutorials: There are many online tutorials that provide step-by-step instructions or demonstrations on how to use or implement various operating system features or components. Some of the popular online tutorials are The Linux Documentation Project, The Windows Dev Center, The MINIX 3 Tutorial, etc.
> Stack Overflow, Reddit, Quora, etc.
Online blogs: There are many online blogs that provide articles, reviews, opinions, insights, etc. on operating systems or related topics. Some of the popular online blogs are The Morning Paper, OSNews, Linux Journal, etc.
Online books: There are many online books that provide more information or details on operating systems or related topics. Some of the popular online books are The Art of Unix Programming by Eric S. Raymond, The Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System by Marshall Kirk McKusick, George V. Neville-Neil, and Robert N.M. Watson, Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces by Remzi H. Arpaci-Dusseau and Andrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau, etc.
Conclusion
In this article, we have given you an overview of the book Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, its benefits, and how it compares with other books on operating systems. We hope that this article has helped you decide whether this book is right for you and how it can help you learn about operating systems.
Summary of the main points
Here are the main points that we have covered in this article:
An operating system is a software program that manages the hardware and software resources of a computer system.
Studying operating systems can help you understand how computers work, how they support various applications and services, and how they cope with various challenges and demands.
Modern operating systems have many features, such as multiprogramming, multiuser, multitasking, real-time, distributed, etc.
The book Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum is a comprehensive and in-depth textbook on operating systems that covers both traditional and modern topics in operating systems.
The book provides both theoretical and practical aspects of operating system design and implementation.
The book provides many examples and case studies from real-world operating systems, such as UNIX, Linux, Windows, Mach, etc.
The book provides many exercises and projects that challenge you to design and implement your own operating system components or features.
The book is intended for undergraduate or graduate students who are taking a course on operating systems or related subjects in computer science or engineering.
The book can also be used by professionals who want to refresh or update their knowledge on operating systems.
The book provides more detail and depth than most introductory textbooks on operating systems, more topics and concepts than most intermediate textbooks on operating systems, and more examples and case studies than most advanced textbooks on operating systems.
The book adopts a clear and concise style that makes it easy to read and understand.
The book uses a bottom-up approach that starts from the basics and builds up to more complex topics.
The book balances between theory and practice, providing both rigorous explanations and practical examples.
The book encourages readers to think critically and creatively, providing many exercises and projects that challenge them to apply their knowledge and skills.
The book can be complemented by other resources that provide more information or details on some topics or concepts that are beyond the scope of this book or are only briefly mentioned in this book.
Call to action
If you are interested in reading the book Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, you can find it online or in your local bookstore. You can also visit the official website of the book at http://www.cs.vu.nl/ast/books/mos3/, where you can find more information about the book, such as the table of contents, the preface, the errata, the sample chapters, etc. You can also find some useful links to other resources related to operating systems on the website. We hope that you enjoy reading the book and learning about operating systems!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the book Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum:
Q: What is the difference between the 3rd edition and the 4th edition of the book?
A: The 4th edition of the book was published in 2014, and it contains some updates and revisions from the 3rd edition, which was published in 2007. Some of the main changes are:
The book has been reorganized into four parts instead of seven, to make it more coherent and consistent.
The book has added some new topics and concepts, such as multicore systems, virtualization, cloud computing, security, etc.
The book has updated some of the examples and case studies to reflect the current state of operating systems, such as Linux, Windows, Android, iOS, etc.
The book has improved some of the explanations and illustrations to make them more clear and accurate.
Q: Is there a solution manual for the book?
A: Yes, there is a solution manual for the book, but it is only available to instructors who adopt the book for their courses. If you are an instructor who wants to use the book for your course, you can request a copy of the solution manual from the publisher at https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Tanenbaum-Modern-Operating-Systems-4th-Edition/PGM334362.html.
Q: Is there a code repository for the book?
A: No, there is no official code repository for the book. However, some of the exercises and projects in the book require you to write or modify some code related to operating systems. For example, you may need to write some code for MINIX, a Unix-like operating system that is used as a case study in the book. You can find the source code and documentation for MINIX at http://www.minix3.org/. You can also find some unofficial code repositories for the book on GitHub or other platforms, where some readers have shared their solutions or implementations for some of the exercises or projects in the book.
Q: Is there an online version of the book?
A: No, there is no official online version of the book. However, you can find some sample chapters of the book on the official website of the book at http://www.cs.vu.nl/ast/books/mos3/. You can also find some unofficial online versions of the book on some websites or platforms, where some readers have uploaded or shared their copies of the book. However, we do not recommend or endorse these unofficial online versions of the book, as they may violate the copyright or intellectual property rights of the author or publisher.
Q: Is there an audiobook version of the book?
> the copyright or intellectual property rights of the author or publisher. 71b2f0854b