Modern Operating Systems
by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Herbert Bos · first published 1992
61% recommend36% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Accessible, comprehensive OS textbook covering how operating systems work, from boot and hardware up to Windows and Android. Suits self-taught programmers and CS students wanting a broad overview of OS internals.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Modern Operating Systems, Fourth Edition, is intended for introductory courses in Operating Systems in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Electrical Engineering programs. It also serves as a useful reference for OS professionals The widely anticipated revision of this worldwide best-seller incorporates the latest developments in operating systems (OS) technologies. The Fourth Edition includes up-to-date materials on relevant¿OS. Tanenbaum also provides information on current research based on his experience as an operating systems researcher. Modern Operating Systems, Third Edit
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What Hacker News says
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I used to love Operating Systems during my undergrads, Modern Operating Systems by Tanenbaum is till date the only academic book I've read entirely. I recently read an article about how Amazon built Aurora by Werner Vogels and I was captivated by it. I want to start reading about…
on “Ask HN: Learning about distributed systems?” ↗…and Orwant ANSI Common Lisp - Graham Refactoring - Fowler UML Distilled - Fowler Introduction to the Theory of Computation - Sisper Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms - MacKay Modern Operating Systems - Tanenbaum On Lisp - Graham Hackers & Painters - Graham Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence - Norvig Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning - Bishop The Java Language Specification - Gosling,…
on “ASK HN: Hacker Bibles” ↗…to Algorithms - Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, and Stein The Art of Assembly Language - Hyde a digital logic book (not sure which is most recommended), and an architecture book (see reply by tftfmacedo) Modern Operating Systems - Tanenbaum Introduction to the Theory of Computation - Sipser Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools - Aho, Lam, Sethi, and Ullman (a.k.a. "Dragon Book") Programming Language Pragmatics - Scott…
on “Must Read CS Books For Self Self-Taught Programmers” ↗Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (), Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages and Computation (Hopcroft Ullman), don knuth's art of computer programming, Tanenbaum's Modern Operating Systems, Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools5 (Aho Sethi Ullman)
on “Ask HN: What are the most fundamental books on computer science?” ↗…Minix: http://www.amazon.com/Operating-Systems-Implementation-Prent... But since this text is rather old, it doesn't have some of the later developments in OS. So for that additional material, I'd recommend his latest book to have at your side: http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Operating-Systems-Andrew-Tanenb...
on “How to Write an Operating System” ↗First edition was a great book. For anyone interested in other OS dev books, I highly recommend: - Design and Implementation of the UNIX Operating System (Maurice J. Bach) - Modern Operating Systems (Andrew S. Tanenbaum) - Operating Systems Design and Implementation (Andrew S. Tanenbaum) - Linux Core Kernel Commentary (Scott Andrew Maxwell)
on “Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD OS: 2nd edition available for preorder” ↗Not very Linux specific but Tanenbaum's "Modern Operating Systems" is an excellent source for OS theory and very readable as well. It's an expensive book, but I found it worth its money.
on “Ask HN: Recommended resources to learn the Linux kernel and OS theory?” ↗While the tone of the parent is a bit, well, it could be better :) I do think the parent has a point. For example, I just finished reading Modern Operating Systems by Tanenbaum. His experience shows. This form of experience cannot be showcased by someone who's learning or just has learned a particular technology. And I know I'm taking one of the giants as an example,…
on “Writing a Programming Book in 2021” ↗I can't really emphasize enough how well-written his books are. I picked up some of Tanenbaum's books early in high school (specifically: Structured Computer Organization, Modern Operating Systems, and Computer Networks). They were so well-written and engaging they I could hardly take my eyes off of 'em. They really cultivated an interest and love for Computer Science in me.
on “Retirement of Prof. Andy Tanenbaum” ↗A wonderful contribution: Modern Operating Systems by Andrew S. Tanenbaum.
on “Retirement of Prof. Andy Tanenbaum” ↗…languages, context-free grammars and turing machines. A less theoretical book, that is useful for a gentle intro is Masting Algorithms with C. A bit off the theory track, but useful for a software engineer: Modern Operating Systems by Tanenbaum and Computer Organization and Design for info on hardware.
on “How to Pass a Silicon Valley Software Engineering Interview [PDF slides]” ↗…Lisp / Emacs was a blast. As far as answering you actual question goes, I really liked Gödel, Escher, Bach back then, also thinking recursively by Roberts. The only "technical" book I enjoyed reading was Modern Operating Systems by Tanenbaum ( don't know what current editions are like, the roughly 2000-2001 version was great though). Its was simple, very clear, humorous, and a gives a great overview of how the os works.
on “Ask HN: reading list for high school students interested in CS?” ↗…entails, http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/drivers_linux. One thing, if you're just starting out (which it sounds like), I would NOT recommend looking at the linux kernel src. And lastly, modern operating systems by tanenbaum is a good introductory text that has the plus of being a fun read. Good luck!
on “What are the stuff to learn to become good at Kernel,drivers?” ↗For algo/datastructures, CLRS (http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Algorithms-Thomas-H-Corme...) is the gold standard. For OS's, Tanenbaum (http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Operating-Systems-Andrew-Tanenb...) is popular. 'Math' is broad - if I can recommend only one book to cover all of Math I'd probably say 'The Road to Reality' (http://www.amazon.com/The-Road-Reality-Complete-Universe/dp/...).…
on “The software development final exam: Algorithms and Data Structures” ↗FWIW, Modern Operating Systems is the classic book by Tanenbaum. You are correct, however, that my edition has a circus on the cover, not a dinosaur. Seems like the author did not put too much care into this list.
on “Recommended Security Reading” ↗