Gentle introduction to operating systems

Question

I want to understand the very basics of how operating systems work, so that I can better understand innovations that are happening in the industry right now. I'm not yet ready to delve into a dense college textbook, since I know I would lose interest very quickly. I am looking for a learning resource that is visual, interactive, and fun, kind of like this. Something I can informally work through in my spare time, and feel like I'm actually learning something. Does such a resource exist?

Answer 1

I just purchased a copy of this for self-learning.

http://www1.idc.ac.il/tecs/

You build circuits from logic gates, a simple computer, assembler, os, compiler for a high level language, etc.

Edit: to be clear, you build virtual hardware using the software simulators they supply on the book's home page.

Answer 2

You may be intrested to see OS minix(opensource,for education,microkernel) MINIX

PS.Tannenbaum(creator of minix) writed book about operating system architecture used minix as example

Answer 3

I'm not convinced that there is a simple way to learn about operating systems. Sheduling, memory management, multi-processing, priority queues, managing io devices, ... are what they are. I've never seen a book like 'Operating systems for dummies'. How interesting it may be, it does not exist (I guess because of the complexity of the current Operating Systems).

Answer 4

Hi

There is this video lecture on Operating Systems which might be handy. http://academicearth.org/courses/operating-systems-and-system-programming

Answer 5

There's always "Operating Systems Concepts" by Silberschatz et. al. Eighth edition suggests that it has staying power.

Answer 6

This reminds me of the classic: Q: "How much does that cost?" A: "If tou have to ask, you can't afford it."

"Operating Systems" is not a gentle topic. If you need a gentle introduction, then you need to introduce yourself to several other topics first.

Another thing is that innovations in the industry are not made at the introductory level. Any real innovation in operating systems will be something that a beginner in operating systems is unlikely to understand.