Date: Sat, 22 Nov 1997 18:09:23 -0500 (EST) From: Chuck Robey <chuckr@glue.umd.edu> To: Charles Mott <cmott@srv.net> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: FreeBSD Book Club Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971122180307.14432X-100000@picnic.mat.net> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971122153126.7120A-100000@darkstar.home>
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On Sat, 22 Nov 1997, Charles Mott wrote: > > I haven't found one _better_ than the Shanley book, have you? > > Obviously I'm not an expert or I would not have asked for other > recommendations. BTW, I was asking about books covering the grungy, > detailed side of OS and boot code programming in general. > > > On top of that, there's many areas that the van Gilluwe book skips > > completely, saying it's covered so well elsewhere, why bother (video > > specifically comes to mind, which is really skimped on). > > > > If you know of any better book than the Shanley book, I'd be really > > interested. Until you do find better, you might want to reconsider. The > > protected areas just aren't discussed, at least not from a non-Windows > > viewpoint. > > My objections to Shanley are mainly on style. It reads like some lecture > viewgraphs transcribed over to a book. If he and the publisher had worked > a little, the book could have been half the size with the same content. Yeah, I wasn't calling the world's greatest book, but when the field is that thin, well, I think it has to be a keeper, else you get nothing at all. The van Gilluwe book disappointed me in skipping many things I was specifically interested in, while doing a pedagogical OS for a class, but I had the field pretty well covered. When you leave the Unix and Windows fields, what's left is either completely roll-your-own, or you have to get really familiar with DPMI, and there's just nothing on DPMI out there except raw specs. Luckily, it's not the worst spec in the world. One thing that Shanley has going for him is that he doesn't mention Windows every 3rd word! > > But then my judgment in style is maybe out of the ordinary -- I think that > the 4.3 BSD book by Leffler et al is a much clearer and well written book > the 4.4 BSD (which had some of the same authors). > > Charles Mott > > > ----------------------------+----------------------------------------------- Chuck Robey | Interests include any kind of voice or data chuckr@glue.umd.edu | communications topic, C programming, and Unix. 213 Lakeside Drive Apt T-1 | Greenbelt, MD 20770 | I run Journey2 and picnic, both FreeBSD (301) 220-2114 | version 3.0 current -- and great FUN! ----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------
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