Beginning Linux Programming

This guide for both professional and beginning Linux users is the work of Linux experts Richard Stones and Neil Matthew. This book is best suited for Linux programmers who have some knowledge but need more information about how to program databases, next generation GUIs and controlling devices. The authors demystify the magic behind device drivers, kernel programming, realtime clustering and APIs. Professional Linux Programming belongs on the reference shelve of anybody interested in Linux, GUI programming or operating systems in general.

The Linux operating system, an open-source UNIX-like OS, was developed in 1991 for PCs. Without the Internet, its development and adoption wouldn't have occurred. At its core, it consists of the Linux kernel, a flotilla of free GNU tools and the X Window system.

Its adoption and development in the intervening time has been impressive -- estimates of Linux users vary from 4 to 10 million in March 1998, and the growth to that point was exponential. That puts the current user base somewhere around 14 million (see http: //www.redhat.com/knowledgebase/linuxmarket.html for more information).