Computer Systems A Programmer's Perspective Second Edition
T
o this point in our study of computer systems, we have assumed that
programs run in isolation, with minimal input and output. How-
ever, in the real world, application programs use services provided
by the operating system to communicate with I/O devices and with other
programs.
This part of the book will give you an understanding of the basic
I/O services provided by Unix operating systems, and how to use these
services to build applications such as Web clients and servers that com-
municate with each other over the Internet. You will learn techniques for
writing concurrent programs such as Web servers that can service mul-
tiple clients at the same time. Writing concurrent application programs
can also allow them to execute faster on modern multi-core processors.
When you finish this part, you will be well on your way to becoming a
power programmer with a mature understanding of computer systems
and their impact on your programs.