
Operating System Design Book Series - adamnemecek
http://www.fysnet.net/osdesign_book_series.htm
======
PerusingAround
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.

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

~~~
buzer
"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](http://www.fysnet.net/docs/vol1_whatsnew.pdf))
-> "Availability"

------
adamnemecek
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](http://www.fysnet.net/the_graphical_user_interface.htm)

~~~
chrisseaton
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.

~~~
userbinator
_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.

~~~
chrisseaton
> ...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.

~~~
userbinator
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...](http://faculty.salina.k-state.edu/tim/ossg/Introduction/design.html)

 _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.

~~~
muthdra
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-...](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4396849/does-the-script-tag-
position-in-html-affects-performance-of-the-webpage)

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](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWv_vUgbmug)
)

~~~
tscs37
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.

~~~
muthdra
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.

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johndoe4711
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.

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userbinator
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](http://www.fysnet.net/the_universal_serial_bus.htm)

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

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

------
azhenley
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.

~~~
tomca32
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/](http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~remzi/OSTEP/)

------
benlunt
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

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random3
The typography of the website reminds me of Phrack magazine :)

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benbenolson
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.

~~~
icholy
That's extremely cheap dude...

