Operating System Design Book Series | Hacker News Reader

Operating System Design Book Series

fysnet.net

307 pointsadamnemecek25 comments

I was ready to order the first book until I realized the second version is not available on the Kindle format, which really sucks. Digging deeper, I've found this on the change notes:

"Please note that the Kindle version will not be updated at this time. I get very little interest in the Kindle version and at this time will no longer pursue that format. If I get enough interest from you readers about the Kindle version, I may decide to update that format then."

That's a real bummer, I don't feel like paying the international shipping fees and hassles... this really demotivated me from the buy.

I can't seem to find the quoted text on the website, nor any mention of the second version.

"Volume 1: The System Core" -> "The 2nd Edition is now available. See this .pdf for what's new" (http://www.fysnet.net/docs/vol1_whatsnew.pdf) -> "Availability"

What I like about this series is that there’s a whole book on GUI which most other resources ignore.

http://www.fysnet.net/the_graphical_user_interface.htm

Have you read these books and are they reputable? The website seems a little... unconventional, and the books look like they're vanity published. But I have an open mind if they are indeed good.

The website seems a little... unconventional

...as in "handwritten HTML with no bloat"? This is what all sites used to be like, very information-packed and free of fluff. When I come across sites like these, the content is almost certainly going to be very good.

> ...as in "handwritten HTML with no bloat"? ... free of fluff

Are we looking at the same page or are you being sarcastic? The one I'm looking at has a ring binder theme, lots of random low resolution icons and is basically just a wrapper for a big pre element so everything appears in an awkward typewriter font. Part of it looks like it's dynamically generated by JavaScript.

I mean the chap is free to design his website however works best for him. I'm just saying that and the vanity publishing triggers my skepticism before buying the book and I was looking for opinions.

Yes, we're looking at the same page and I'm not being sarcastic. Despite the images, the total size of the page and its assets is <64KB and it loads extremely quickly.

For comparison, this page and its assets is >160KB and yet it contains a fraction of the content:

http://faculty.salina.k-state.edu/tim/ossg/Introduction/desi...

I'm just saying that and the vanity publishing triggers my skepticism before buying the book and I was looking for opinions.

I think the disparity of reaction between you and me shows how subjective design can be.

You don't know what you're talking about. Chris spotted the developer's unfamiliarity with the web and he was right.

  200ms: http handshake done. let's download this HTML page
  207ms: ok the page is downloaded. let's see what it's all about
  213ms: better look ahead and queue up all the files this page needs. it's a CSS file, a JS file and a bunch of PNGs
  214ms: parses 9 lines. stops parsing.

  217ms: CSS starts downloading!
  220ms: JS starts downloading!
  221ms: one of the PNGs starts downloading!

  nothing happens

  384ms: CSS is done downloading :)
  389ms: CSS is done parsing :)
  405ms: the first PNG is done downloading :)

At this point, I have loaded the all the HTML, CSS and even an image but not a single pixel will be drawn until the JS is done downloading and running. The problem here is not JavaScript, but render-blocking tags. This should be relevant: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4396849/does-the-script-...

Why can't the website just load everything and then, only after showing you the contents of the page, run the necessary JavaScript? Probably because the developer never even thought about all of this. I don't blame him. He's not walking around saying his website is fine handcrafted HTML free of bloat or fluff. He's just making a website about his book.

As a sidenote, you believing that this is a website that "loads extremely quickly" reminds me of Jonathan Blows's "there's generalized insanity about software and people often don't know what makes programs slow" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWv_vUgbmug )

I think it's less of an unfamiliarity and more of an outdated development practise. Plus, completing the entire page in under 750ms (measured in Firefox) is still faster than some other pages out there (reddit: 4s, HN: 1.2s, etc)

I would personally say the website has it's charm, even if it's a bit dated in design.

Oh no, I don't have anything against the website. It worked 100% of the times I tried in less than one second and it responds well to every lighthouse audit for performance except render-blocking tags. Also the books look amazing.

But the point was all about the look of the site and the defense was that it should behave like an old-time simple barebones website because it looks like one. This is not true.

This website waits to parse a JavaScript file that adds like 5 lines to the bottom of the page. It looks and behaves... unconventionally.

Now, I understand how "design is perceptive". I just read the page thinking:

* Cool!, the web page design looks like a manual page.

* It loads fast, and is displayed in full on my phone.

* Nothing fancy about it, and is a good start for something about Operating Systems.

And then I saw comments here! I guess everyone has their thing.

The web should be something simple, after all HTML and HTTP were both designed to transfer text, the former is the document format and the latter the means of transmission. Of course nowadays the web is bloated with javascript, webassembly, webRTC, EME, and many other technologies. Perhaps a good word on design are the following two sites:

http://motherfuckingwebsite.com/

http://bettermotherfuckingwebsite.com/

It's fun how the authors present valid ideas about the web. Please, don't get offended, instead try to think about the origin of their criticism.

Yes I agree with both those websites... and they're arguing against the website of these books. It has weird graphics, it isn't simple HTML, it's generated by JavaScript.

Check the screenshots

http://www.fysnet.net/temp/vol6_gui.png

http://www.fysnet.net/temp/vol6_gui_1.png

http://www.fysnet.net/temp/vol6_gui_2.png

I skimmed some of them. They look pretty legit. They are self published, so they might look somewhat unconventional.

I have the first 2 volumes. Bought them last year, but due to work, laziness, and other matters, I haven't finished reading them :p

I'll post some pics of them once I arrive at home.

Nitpicking a bit, but from the description of the content, this rather seems to be a series of books on implementation of operating systems rather that on OS design. While this is certainly a worthwhile topic, I find the series title to be misleading.

Benjamin David Lunt. I recognise that name from the old DOS software scene. He also has a pretty good book on USB: http://www.fysnet.net/the_universal_serial_bus.htm

Looks like his homepage still shows his old DOS stuff: http://www.fysnet.net/

According to the table of contents on Amazon, it looks more like an encyclopedia of x86 and PC platform minutiae.

I wish I would have known about this sooner. I taught an undergraduate OS course last year and the students found the Tanenbaum book to be very abstract and dry. It would have been nice to mix in some of this material.

I recently bought Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces after hearing good things about it. Didn't really have time to go through it yet, but it does seem interesting. There's also a free PDF version.

http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP/

Hi guys. I happened to stumble across this thread and was pleased to read your comments. Let me try to answer most of your questions in one reply. 1. The Kindle versions may not be available any longer, I am sorry to say, due to the fact that it does not display the images well, as well as the tables and figures. However, I have not totally abandoned the thought of updating them. 2. My web page is simple and to the point. I don't have any desire to make it otherwise. I do hand code it, as one mentioned. The reason for the script at the end, to display the few lines of text, is simply to allow me to modify one file and all pages will see that update. Yes, I could do it differently, but as you mention, it loads in less than a second. If that isn't fast enough for someone, they are in too much of a hurry. Besides, web development is not my interest. 3. My books are an on-going project that I enjoy doing and thought that others might benefit from my work. Yes, I make a slight profit from it, but nothing is free. You have to earn it some how. With that said, I fully support each book and its contents. If something is not clear or understandable, a simple email asking about that subject is happily accepted and replied to. I then try to make that subject more understandable in the next issue. 4. About the "Vanity Publishing" comment. I never looked at it that way. I started to write the book and looked at other books to see what they had for a Contents page. I filled in my name expecting to replace it with other names as that process was done. At this time, no outside sources have been used. Maybe a later time. However, please be assured that it is not due to "Vanity". I am a humble man, and am writing another book explaining exactly how humble I am (Yes, sarcasm intended) :-)

My books aren't the next best thing, I admit that. I don't expect them to be wonderful and the best reference out there. The main reason I do the work is for the enjoyment of the project. If you see an improvement you would like, all suggestions are welcome. I won't promise that they will be added, but all suggestions are very welcome. I give credit at the end of the book to those who contribute.

Again, if any questions are asked, I freely do my best to answer them, whether someone has bought my book(s) or not. I suggest obtaining the book first, then ask a question, but that is not required.

Thank you for your comments. I was pleased to read them. Ben

The typography of the website reminds me of Phrack magazine :)

I'd love to have something like this, as it's got all of the practical information needed that most other books don't provide, but with so many volumes at >$22 each, it just seems a bit pricey.

That's extremely cheap dude...

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