How Linux works - BookWyrm

No cover — Brian Ward, Ward, Brian: How Linux works (Paperback, 2004, No Starch Press)

Paperback, 347 pages

English language

Published Nov. 7, 2004 by No Starch Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-59327-035-3

(3 reviews)

Unlike some operating systems, Linux doesn’t try to hide the important bits from you—it gives you full control of your computer. But to truly master Linux, you need to understand its internals, like how the system boots, how networking works, and what the kernel actually does.

In this completely revised second edition of the perennial best seller How Linux Works, author Brian Ward makes the concepts behind Linux internals accessible to anyone curious about the inner workings of the operating system. Inside, you’ll find the kind of knowledge that normally comes from years of experience doing things the hard way. You’ll learn: –How Linux boots, from boot loaders to init implementations (systemd, Upstart, and System V) –How the kernel manages devices, device drivers, and processes –How networking, interfaces, firewalls, and servers work –How development tools work and relate to shared libraries –How to write effective shell scripts

You’ll also explore …

Unlike some operating systems, Linux doesn’t try to hide the important bits from you—it gives you full control of your computer. But to truly master Linux, you need to understand its internals, like how the system boots, how networking works, and what the kernel actually does.

In this completely revised second edition of the perennial best seller How Linux Works, author Brian Ward makes the concepts behind Linux internals accessible to anyone curious about the inner workings of the operating system. Inside, you’ll find the kind of knowledge that normally comes from years of experience doing things the hard way. You’ll learn: –How Linux boots, from boot loaders to init implementations (systemd, Upstart, and System V) –How the kernel manages devices, device drivers, and processes –How networking, interfaces, firewalls, and servers work –How development tools work and relate to shared libraries –How to write effective shell scripts

You’ll also explore the kernel and examine key system tasks inside user space, including system calls, input and output, and filesystems. With its combination of background, theory, real-world examples, and patient explanations, How Linux Works will teach you what you need to know to solve pesky problems and take control of your operating system.

1 edition

Griddle reviewed How Linux works by Brian Ward

Review of 'How Linux works' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Standard Linux introduction books concentrate on the shell functions and describe how to become productively in the file system and in the shell. However, if you are interested in a more detailed approach to the Linux operating system and how its components interplay, you are faced with heavy tomes whose page numbers easily exceed 1000. Notable mentions include Unix Power Tools by Jerry Peek et al., Unix in a Nutshell by Arnold Robbins et al. and the UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook by Nemeth et al. In order to be comprehensive, these books cover both Unix and Linux, and therefore contain in parts less relevant Input, depending to which of the two camps you belong.

Less is more and 'How Linux Works' limits its scope only to Linux-based operating systems with an easily digestible level of detail where one is not in danger of losing orientation. The strength of …

Standard Linux introduction books concentrate on the shell functions and describe how to become productively in the file system and in the shell. However, if you are interested in a more detailed approach to the Linux operating system and how its components interplay, you are faced with heavy tomes whose page numbers easily exceed 1000. Notable mentions include Unix Power Tools by Jerry Peek et al., Unix in a Nutshell by Arnold Robbins et al. and the UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook by Nemeth et al. In order to be comprehensive, these books cover both Unix and Linux, and therefore contain in parts less relevant Input, depending to which of the two camps you belong.

Less is more and 'How Linux Works' limits its scope only to Linux-based operating systems with an easily digestible level of detail where one is not in danger of losing orientation. The strength of the book are in the description of the Kernel boot process, the structure and mounting of the file system. For instance, the communication with the file system devices is explained. Furthermore, the initialization of the User space is described, including run levels and the common implementations of the Init process (systemd and Upstart). The next part deals with networking: internet layer, private networks, routing, Firewall, file transfer tools and the most important commands for adminstration. The last part covers in detail the C++ Compiler as well as the building of libraries and packages from source with Make.

Conclusion: This book is a sprint though the Linux ecosystem and avoids unnecessary in depth coverage. There are many clues throughout the book at points where too specialized topics are being discussed, which might be skipped. The text is easily readable and commands/instructions are reproducable at the own work station. I suspect that the author uses Fedora, since not all tools are available in Ubuntu. However, the content is up to date. In case a more detailed references is needed, one of the aforementioned standard books should be chosesn. For beginners, however, this book is the recommended starting point.

bion

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July 8, 2015

Niclas Overby Ⓝ

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July 16, 2022

Subjects

Linux
Operating systems (Computers)