Intended for use as a college-level textbook for an introductory course on the basic concepts of operating systems, this book is especially suitable for students with a fundamental knowledge of computer systems programming. In addition, it could be used by those working in the field who need an overview of specific aspects of operating system design.

This third, improved edition is divided into six parts. Part 1, “Overview,” can serve as a primer. It describes in clear, simple terms why operating systems are needed and what makes them tick. Concepts such as time sharing, interrupt-driven systems, and virtual machines are covered at a level of detail that is appropriate for students. Part 2, “Process Management,” discusses topics such as sequential and concurrent processes, process scheduling and control, coordinating concurrent processes, and deadlocks and how to avoid them.

Part 3, “Storage Management,” reviews a variety of techniques for scheduling and partitioning of main memory and secondary storage. Concepts covered include paging, swapping, and segmenting. An excellent discussion on virtual memory and related algorithms provides a remarkably clear explanation of the subject.

Part 4, “Files and Protection,” reviews techniques for organizing data into manageable file structures, and mechanisms for file protection and security. Part 5, “Distributed Systems,” begins with a review of distributed systems and the various types of such systems. It then gives a detailed analysis of how processes are coordinated and how system failures can be detected and corrected.

Part 6, “Case Studies,“ describes the history and detailed design principles of two of the many UNIX-based systems, Berkeley 4.3BSD and Mach; the latter, first released in 1986, is compatible with 4.3BSD, but has advanced features. Mach was especially designed to be a distributed operating system and to be portable to various computer platforms. This last section also contains a brief description of several older operating systems. Long-forgotten names from the 1960s and early 1970s are dusted off, including Atlas, THE, and MULTICS, and their similarities and differences are briefly reviewed.

This textbook can undoubtedly be used as a basis for an introductory course on operating systems. The instructor can easily find enough material here to provide students with a good foundation in the subject and an understanding of some of the intrinsic problems in designing operating systems. Learning can be enhanced by using the thought-provoking exercises accompanying each chapter. Each chapter concludes with a brief summary and bibliographical notes, which provide insightful information on the substance of each reference.

One improvement for future editions would be to include more material dealing with operating systems from the user’s point of view. While the emphasis in this book is on the design of operating systems, the user’s perspective seems somewhat neglected. Examples of various methods for user interfaces as applied in some of the more popular operating systems would go a long way toward strengthening the student’s understanding of the material.

Another improvement would be to include more examples showing how various design concepts are actually implemented in commercially available operating systems. Although the authors have clearly taken the effort to discuss actual implementations, especially in the last portion of the book, a better job could have been done in coupling design details with specific highlights on how these were implemented in practice.

Lastly, a section on system performance, a subject of great interest to designers and users of operating systems, could have been included. While performance considerations are sporadically touched on in the book, a more focused discussion would be of value.

This book is a welcome addition to the computer science literature. It is well written and clear in its explanation of even some of the more complex items. It is a text worth referring to if one needs an overview of a specific aspect of operating systems or wishes to understand some of the more intricate elements of the subject.