Hard stuff made easy! Your practical, self-paced guide to operating system fundamentals. Operating Systems DeMYSTiFieDis an easy way to understand how operating systems enable computer hardware and software to communicate successfully with each other. The basic concepts of a foundational class on operating systems is condensed, arranged in a logical sequence, and broken down into smaller pieces of information. Each chapter includes learning objectives, a summary of central concepts, and exercises to apply the objectives learned. Detailed illustrations enhance the material. The book covers the major components and levels of operating systems, design techniques, hardware interface, process and memory management, file systems, security, and networking and distributed systems. This overview is supplemented by reviews, practice exercises, case studies, and a full self-test at the end of the book. Operating Systems DeMYSTiFieD Covers high-level operating system design techniques, functions, and hardware interface, as well as specifics of Windows, UNIX, Linux, and other popular operating systems Provides a foundational understanding of how the operating system allocates and de-allocates the computer'¬"s many and diverse resources: its CPUs, main memory, devices, files, networked resources, and security software Includes detailed examples with clear explanations Contains chapter-opening objectives that offer insight into what you'¬"re going to learn in each step Offers questions at the end of every chapter reinforce learning and pinpoint weaknesses Concludes with a final exam for overall self-assessment Step-by-step coverage: Introduction to Operating Systems; Operating Systems Structures; Process Management; Process; Threads; CPU Scheduling; Process Synchronization; Deadlocks; Memory Management; Virtual Memory; Storage Management; System Interface; File System Implementation; Mass Storage Structure; I/O Systems; Protection and Security; Types of Operating Systems.