Why is Linux so efficient? Is it the right operating system for a particular application? What can be learned from looking at the kernel source code? These are the kinds of questions that this text takes in stride in this guided tour of the code that forms the core of all Linux operating systems. The book aims to help readers understand how Linux performs best and how it meets the challenge of different environments. Theauthors introduce each topic by explaining its importance, and show how kernel operations relate to the utilities that are familiar to Unix programmers and users. Major topics include: memory management, including file buffering, process swapping, and direct memory access (DMA); the virtual file system and the second extended file system; process creation and scheduling; signals, interrupts, and the essential interfaces to device drivers; timing; synchronization in the kernel; inter-process communication (IPC); and program execution.