It can be difficult and time-consuming to learn how to develop system programs for Linux. It's not unusual for programmers to scour several manuals—or hundreds of web pages—before finding the information they need. According to Michael Kerrisk, " is the book I wanted when I first switched from UNIX to predominantly working in Linux more than a decade ago." He added that it is "...a broad and deep system programming book that covers Linux-specific details while also clearly delineating standard features available on all UNIX systems. Long before I completed writing this book, it had already become my own primary system programming reference."
In readers learn how to:
- Read and write files efficiently
- Use signals, clocks, and timers
- Create processes and execute programs
- Write secure programs
- Write multithreaded programs using POSIX threads
- Build and use shared libraries
- Perform interprocess communication using pipes, message queues, shared memory, and semaphores
- Write network applications with the sockets API
No other book on the market offers the depth and breadth of . This is sure to become the go-to guide for anyone developing system applications for Linux and UNIX platforms.
For more information or to request a review copy of , contact Travis Peterson at No Starch Press (nostarchpr@oreilly.com, +1.415.863.9900, x300), or visit .
About the Author
has been using and programming UNIX systems for more than 20 years, and has taught many week-long courses on UNIX system programming. Since 2004, he has maintained the man-pages project (), which produces the manual pages describing the Linux kernel and glibc programming APIs. He has written or co-written more than 250 of the manual pages and is actively involved in the testing and design review of new Linux kernel-userspace interfaces. Michael lives with his family in Munich, Germany.
Additional Resources
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The Linux Programming Interface
by Michael Kerrisk
October 2010, 1552 pp
ISBN 9781593272203, $99.95 USD
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
Available in fine bookstores everywhere, from , or directly from No Starch Press (, orders@nostarch.com, 1-800-420-7240).
About No Starch Press
Founded in 1994, is one of the few remaining independent computer book publishers. We publish the finest in geek entertainment—unique books on technology, with a focus on open source, security, hacking, programming, alternative operating systems, LEGO, science, and math. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about. Visit for a complete catalog.
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