The magic garden explained
by Berny Goodheart · first published 1994
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…implement in their standard library." [https://blog.safia.rocks/post/171381157060/looking-into-ls] Here's a book about Unix, among many (I got this one as a CS graduation present): https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Garden-Explained-Internals-Rele...
on “How does `cd` work?” ↗…tells you everything you need to know about how the languages you use are built. I also like Holub's "Compiler Design in C," though it's a lot more hands-on. For understanding OSes, I recommend "The Magic Garden Explained," and Bach's "Design of the UNIX Operating System." Outdated, perhaps, but outstanding in their clarity. C (yes, you should learn C; like Lisp, it's also good for you even if you only use it rarely):…
on “Book recommendation to learn basics of Comp Sci?” ↗A little older but "The Magic Garden Explained: The Internals of UNIX System V Release 4, An Open Systems Design" is a really well written book for the core UNIX concepts.
on “Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD OS: 2nd edition available for preorder” ↗…after the point where a Finnish university student's "hobby project" is building one from scratch, a pretty good one it turns out. It's also coming either after, or at the same time as books like "The Magic Garden Explained" which explains SVR4 in considerable detail. You should read stuff like this as at least 90% sour grapes. Is there value from some of the criticisms along the way? Sure, but mostly they're just angry…
on “A Requiem for a Dying Operating System (1994)” ↗Just today my wife asked me if we could get rid of "The Magic Garden, Explained", since I never use it. I told her it's just one of those books I like knowing is there even if I never crack it open again. Highly impractical in that it is so out of date (historical at this point)…
on “Ask HN: Most interesting, mildly impractical, well-written books on software?” ↗…Implementation of the FreeBSD operating System". I have read several operating systems book classics including the book by Silbershatz and Galvin that you referred to and "Unix Internals" by Maurice Bach and the "Magic Garden Explained". I found the Design and Implementation of the BSD operating system much more readable and getting into details at just the right level.
on “Best books, courses to learn fundamental concepts on Operating Systems?” ↗