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Linux Device Drivers, 2nd Edition
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Author: Alessandro Rubini, Jonathan Corbet
List Price: $39.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0596000081
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates (June, 2001)
Edition: Paperback
Sales Rank: 7,035
Average Customer Rating: 4.21 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 1 out of 5
Very disorganized presentation
I can't understand the 5-star reviews of this book. I wonder if anyone who gave the book 5 stars ever tried to sit down and actually write a device driver. I doubt it.The book suffers from two main problems: 1. Presentation is disorganized. The book reads as if the authors sat down and planned out what chapters to cover. That part is good. It does NOT seem like they planned further than that. The text within each chapter seems haphazard. Disorganized. Thrown together. The authors have no concept of when to start a new paragraph, so topics are strung together piecemeal. The whole book is confusing, making the reading of this book very frustrating. 2. The material is presented at a frenetic pace. As I was reading the book, it felt like there was a conveyor belt feeding me information, getting faster and faster without a break. The authors feel like they can throw everything but the kitchen sink at you in a very short time. Information, minute details, big ideas, analogies, and code get thrown at you fast and furious. It starts at chapter one and just gets worse from there, making the reading of this book downright difficult. Difficult and confusing. A good characterization of the book. In summary, this book is NOT a tutorial. It is NOT a guide. Don't make the mistake of buying this book expecting a gentle (or even a not-so-gentle) introduction to writing device drivers. IMHO, the market is still open for a good book on the subject of writing device drivers for Linux.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Execellent device-driver reference
This book's #1 audience is the Unix device-driver writer who wants to understand how Linux's kernel, interfaces, and data structures work. #2 comes the journeyman software engineer who wants to look "below" the application layer, toward creating more efficient programs.There are clear, *working* examples throughout the book. Each chapter builds on the previous one. Complex issues come late in the book, after the reader has had time to build a framework for understanding.
Rating: 5 out of 5
They're Rubini-mad, them kids
Few who have read previous Rubini guides will be in too much doubt as to the merit of this one. I hadn't understood that the book actually dealt with software systems and hardware before I bought it, but I think it's a little bit harsh to critique the book on this basis, and am happy to give it the full five stars. I know all I need to know about Linux and devices now. Meanwhile, if anyone knows where to buy an automated Lino-cutter, I'd be grateful for your thoughts.
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