Poised Solutions Tech Library

Understanding the Linux Kernel

Understanding the Linux Kernel Author: Daniel P. Bovet Marco Cesati Publisher: O'Reilly Published: 2005 Pages: 923

Understanding the Linux Kernel

Understanding the Linux Kernel Chapters

Understanding the Linux Kernel Chapters

1. Introduction
   • Linux Versus Other Unix-Like Kernels
   • Hardware Dependency
   • Linux Versions
   • Basic Operating Systems Concepts
   • An Overview of the Unix Filesystem
   • An Overview of Unix Kernels
2. Memory Addressing
   • Memory Addresses
   • Segmentation in Hardware
   • Segmentation in Linux
   • Paging in Hardware
   • Paging in Linux
3. Processes
   • Processes, Lightweight Processes and Threads
   • Process Descriptor
   • Process Switch
   • Creating Processes
   • Destroying Processes
4. Interrupts and Exceptions
   • The Role of Interrupt Signals
   • Interrupts and Exceptions
   • Nested Executions of Exceptions and Interrupt Handlers
   • Initializing the Interrupt Descriptor Table
   • Exception Handling
   • Interrupt Handling
   • Softirqs and Taskelts
   • Work Queues
   • Returnign form Interrupts and Exceptions
5. Kernel Synchronization
   • How the Kernel Services Requests
   • Synchronization Primitives
   • Synchronizing Accesses to Kernel Data Structures
   • Examples of Race Condition Prevention
6. Timing Measurements
   • Clock and Timer Circuits
   • The Linux Timekeeping Architecture
   • Updating the Time and Date
   • Updating System Statistics
   • Software Timers and Delay Functions
   • System Calls Related to Timing Measurements
7. Process Scheduling
   • Scheduling Policy
   • The Scheduling Alogrithm
   • Data Structures Used by the Scheduler
   • Functions Used by the Scheduler
   • Runqueue Balancing in Multiprocessor Systems
   • System Calls Rleated to Scheduling
8. Memory Management
   • Page Frame Management
   • Memory Area Management
   • Noncontiguous Memory Area Management
9. Process Address Space
   • The Process's Address Space
   • The Memory Descriptor
   • Memory Regions
   • Page Fault Exception Handler
   • Creating and Deleting a Process Address Space
   • Managing the Heap
10. System Calls
    • POSIX APIs and System Calls
    • System Call Handler and Service Routines
    • Entering and Exiting a System Call
    • Parameter Passing
    • Kernel Wrapper Routines
11. Signals
    • The Role of Signals
    • Generating a Signal
    • Delivering a Signal
    • System Calls Related to Singal Handling
12. The Virtual Filesystem
    • The Role of the Virtual Filesystem (VFS)
    • VFS Data Structures
    • Filesystem Types
    • Filesystem Handling
    • Pathname Lookup
    • Implementations of VFS System Calls
    • File Locking
13. I/O Architecture and Device Drivers
    • I/O Architecture
    • The Device Driver Model
    • Device Files
    • Device Drivers
    • Character Device Drivers
14. Block Device Drivers
    • Block Devices Handling
    • The Generic Block Layer
    • The I/O Scheduler
    • Block Device Drivers
    • Opening a Block Device File
15. The Page Cache
    • The Page Cache
    • Stroing Blocks in the Page Cache
    • Wirting Dirty Pages to Disk
    • The sync(), fsync() and fdatasync() System Calls
16. Accessing Files
    • Reading and Writing a File
    • Memory Mapping
    • Direct I/O Transfers
    • Asynchronous I/O
17. Page Frame Reclaiming
    • The Page Frame Reclaiming Algorithm
    • Reverse Mapping
    • Implementing the PFRA
    • Swapping
18. The Ext2 and Ext3 Filesystem
    • General Characteristics of Ext2
    • Ext2 Disk Data Structures
    • Ext2 Memory Data Strucutures
    • Creating the Ext2 Filesystem
    • Ext2 Methods
    • Managing Ext2 Disk Space
    • The Ext3 Filesystem
19. Process Communication
    • Pipes
    • FIFOs
    • System V IPC
    • POSIX Message Queues
20. Program Execution
    • Executable Files
    • Executable Formats
    • Exeuction Domains
    • The exec Functions

Understanding the Linux Kernel Appendices

1. System Startup
2. Modules
3. Bibliography
4. Source Code Index
5. Index