Operating Systems is aimed at students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, particularly those taking a module in a specialist computer systems or computer science course. It takes a new approach to operating systems, integrating three fundamental elements into one convenient and comprehensive text:

� It presents the basic theory of operating system design and implementation in depth
� It uses Linux as a running example throughout the text to expose students to the internals of operating systems
� It gives a practical introduction to systems programming using the POSIX interface

Currently, such material has usually to be drawn from a variety of textbooks so Operating Systems provides a valuable resource for student and lecturer alike. The book aims to give the student a thorough knowledge of how operating systems work, and how they are implemented in practice. It develops a robust understanding of the concepts and building blocks which, although grounded in Linux, provide experience which will be transferable to other systems that the student will meet. Each chapter has a set of discussion questions and suggested reading to further stimulate thought. Whilst primarily written for the academic student, the material will also be of interest to users of Linux in the professional field who wish to increase their knowledge.

John O'Gorman is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems at the University of Limerick. He has previously published a textbook on operating systems within the Palgrave Grassroots series.

The Cornerstones of Computing series is dedicated to providing readers with rigorous and challenging texts that cover the breadth of computing science. The books published in this auspicious series are written by leading experts, reviewed by their peers, and offer a quality of text unsurpassed in today's market.

Series Editors
� Professor Richard Bird is Director of the Computing Laboratory and head of the Programming Research Group at Oxford University. He is also the author of several successful books, including the best-selling "Introduction to Functional Programming" ( Prentice Hall )

� Professor Tony Hoare was formerly at Oxford and is now working at the Microsoft European Research HQ in Cambridge. He is the author of several textbooks, including "Communicating Sequential Processes" ( Prentice Hall )