According to all accepted criteria, Israel has developed a refined universe of social science research, yet the sociology of war, in a society whose brief history is described by "rounds" of war, is utterly lacking. Baruch Kimmerling's monumental work is an effort to correct this glaring omission. He does so by calling upon the best in survey research along with a deep reexamination of the classical social science literature on conflict and consensus. Israeli society is characterized by a large army of reserves, citizen-soldiers mobilized into military service during an emergency. One such emergency was the 1973 war; another the 1982 war. Kimmerling's approach is to treat such conflicts as temporary but powerful interruptions in many social processes. These episodic events not only lead to changing conceptions of mobilization, but higher risks stemming from potential loss of life and injury, shortages, and conceptions of disaster. This is a work which takes seriously both institutional requirements and personal traumas, and is thus very much in the mainstream of social analyses. Kimmerling and his research assistant Irit Backer have come up with most unusual data to measure stress and strain, occupational background of these citizen-soldiers, relationships between normal work and military tasks, the impact of such conflicts on migration patterns--among other truly unusual ways of getting at the topic of an "interrupted" system. This is a book written with a controlled passion, and no mere data-mon-gering activity. The author understands the high costs which Israelis pay to be part of the "club." He sees interruption as an integral part of a chronic conflict situation. Curiously he sees the special features of the Israeli system, when viewed in tandem with external pressures and conflicts, as enabling Israel to strike a balance which enables it to persevere. This is "a "critical work, but spares the reader fatuous policy recommendations.

To thoroughly understand what makes Linux tick and why it's so efficient, you need to delve deep into the heart of the operating system--into the Linux kernel itself. The kernel is Linux--in the case of the Linux operating system, it's the only bit of software to which the term "Linux" applies. The kernel handles all the requests or completed I/O operations and determines which programs will share its processing time, and in what order. Responsible for the sophisticated memory management of the whole system, the Linux kernel is the force behind the legendary Linux efficiency. The new edition of Understanding the Linux Kernel takes you on a guided tour through the most significant data structures, many algorithms, and programming tricks used in the kernel. Probing beyond the superficial features, the authors offer valuable insights to people who want to know how things really work inside their machine. Relevant segments of code are dissected and discussed line by line. The book covers more than just the functioning of the code, it explains the theoretical underpinnings for why Linux does things the way it does. The new edition of the book has been updated to cover version 2.4 of the kernel, which is quite different from version 2.2: the virtual memory system is entirely new, support for multiprocessor systems is improved, and whole new classes of hardware devices have been added. The authors explore each new feature in detail. Other topics in the book include: Memory management including file buffering, process swapping, and Direct memory Access (DMA) The Virtual Filesystem and the Second Extended Filesystem Process creation and scheduling Signals, interrupts, and the essential interfaces to device drivers Timing Synchronization in the kernel Interprocess Communication (IPC) Program execution Understanding the Linux Kernel, Second Edition will acquaint you with all the inner workings of Linux, but is more than just an academic exercise. You'll learn what conditions bring out Linux's best performance, and you'll see how it meets the challenge of providing good system response during process scheduling, file access, and memory management in a wide variety of environments. If knowledge is power, then this book will help you make the most of your Linux system.

Device drivers literally drive everything you're interested in--disks, monitors, keyboards, modems--everything outside the computer chip and memory. And writing device drivers is one of the few areas of programming for the Linux operating system that calls for unique, Linux-specific knowledge. For years now, programmers have relied on the classic Linux Device Drivers from O'Reilly to master this critical subject. Now in its third edition, this bestselling guide provides all the information you'll need to write drivers for a wide range of devices.Over the years the book has helped countless programmers learn: how to support computer peripherals under the Linux operating system how to develop and write software for new hardware under Linux the basics of Linux operation even if they are not expecting to write a driver The new edition of Linux Device Drivers is better than ever. The book covers all the significant changes to Version 2.6 of the Linux kernel, which simplifies many activities, and contains subtle new features that can make a driver both more efficient and more flexible. Readers will find new chapters on important types of drivers not covered previously, such as consoles, USB drivers, and more.Best of all, you don't have to be a kernel hacker to understand and enjoy this book. All you need is an understanding of the C programming language and some background in Unix system calls. And for maximum ease-of-use, the book uses full-featured examples that you can compile and run without special hardware.Today Linux holds fast as the most rapidly growing segment of the computer market and continues to win over enthusiastic adherents in many application areas. With this increasing support, Linux is now absolutely mainstream, and viewed as a solid platform for embedded systems. If you're writing device drivers, you'll want this book. In fact, you'll wonder how drivers are ever written without it.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE AND SOFTWARE SYSTEMS: Concepts and Methodology is intended to offer a systematic treatment of the theory and practice of designing and implementing system software.The two volumes systematically develop and apply the systems methodology for software development. For that the concept of a system is analysed and various types of systems used in computer science are systematized into a concept of an ad hoc system that is suitable as a mechanism for software development. The kernel of this methodology consists of a systematic approach for ad hoc systems development (specification, implementation, validation). The hardware and the software of a computer system are specified as ad hoc systems. Examples from various architectures, languages, and operating systems are provided as illustrations. Problems and their suggested solutions are provided at the end of each chapter. Further readings and a list of references conclude each chapter.These volumes are self-contained and may be used as textbooks for an introductory course on system software and for a course on operating system. However, a broad spectrum of professionals in computer science will benefit from it.

This is a textbook for graduate and final-year-undergraduate computer-science and electrical-engineering students interested in the hardware and software aspects of embedded and cyberphysical systems design. It is comprehensive and self-contained, covering everything from the basics to case-study implementation. Emphasis is placed on the physical nature of the problem domain and of the devices used. The reader is assumed to be familiar on a theoretical level with mathematical tools like ordinary differential equation and Fourier transforms. In this book these tools will be put to practical use. Engineering Embedded Systems begins by addressing basic material on signals and systems, before introducing to electronics. Treatment of digital electronics accentuating synchronous circuits and including high-speed effects proceeds to micro-controllers, digital signal processors and programmable logic. Peripheral units and decentralized networks are given due weight. The properties of analog circuits and devices like filters and data converters are covered to the extent desirable by a systems architect. The handling of individual elements concludes with power supplies including regulators and converters. The final section of the text is composed of four case studies: • electric-drive control, permanent magnet synchronous motors in particular; • lock-in amplification with measurement circuits for weight and torque, and moisture; • design of a simple continuous wave radar that can be operated to measure speed and distance; and • design of a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer for process applications. End-of-chapter exercises will assist the student to assimilate the tutorial material and these are supplemented by a downloadable solutions manual for instructors. The “pen-and-paper” problems are further augmented with laboratory activities. In addition to its student market, Engineering Embedded Systems will assist industrial practitioners working in systems architecture and the design of electronic measurement systems to keep up to date with developments in embedded systems through self study.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE AND SOFTWARE SYSTEMS: Concepts and Methodology is intended to offer a systematic treatment of the theory and practice of designing and implementing system software.The two volumes systematically develop and apply the systems methodology for software development. For that the concept of a system is analysed and various types of systems used in computer science are systematized into a concept of an ad hoc system that is suitable as a mechanism for software development. The kernel of this methodology consists of a systematic approach for ad hoc systems development (specification, implementation, validation). The hardware and the software of a computer system are specified as ad hoc systems. Examples from various architectures, languages, and operating systems are provided as illustrations. Problems and their suggested solutions are provided at the end of each chapter. Further readings and a list of references conclude each chapter.These volumes are self-contained and may be used as textbooks for an introductory course on system software and for a course on operating system. However, a broad spectrum of professionals in computer science will benefit from it.

This book is the eighth volume in the Historical Computing Machines series, which aims to document the history of computing machines from the late 1930s up to about 1995. It is focused on the Control Data Corporation’s early systems which reflected the design principles espoused by Seymour Cray. CDC developed and sold early machines as fast processors for use in scientific and engineering organizations. CDC’s early systems were batch-oriented and minimalist in their instruction sets. This volume covers the early CDC systems – from the CDC 160 through the CDC 3800 – in the evolution of computer architectures in the pursuit of fast computers, and describes their system software, their effect on programming language designs, and key applications. It also describes the later CDC 1700 and its successors, the Cyber 17/18 series of minicomputers. As such, this volume strives to bring together a comprehensive, but not exhaustive, view of the capabilities of early CDC computer systems.