Operating System Concepts

Operating System Concepts

Cover of the "Dinosour book" (1982 edition)
Author	Abraham Silberschatz and James Peterson
Language	English
Subject	Computer Science
Publisher	Addison-Wesley
Publication date	1982
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
ISBN	978-0-201-06097-3

Operating System Concepts by Abraham Silberschatz and James Peterson is a classic textbook on operating systems. It is often called the "dinosaur book", as the first edition of the book had on the cover a number of dinosaurs labeled with various old operating systems. The bigger dinosaurs were labeled with the older big OSs. The ape-like creature was labeled UNIX.[1] The idea was that like dinosaurs, operating systems evolve.[2]

Publication History

The first edition of Operating System Concepts was released in 1982 and was published by Addison-Wesley, as was every edition of the textbook since release.

The book has been published in updated editions since 1983. The third edition added the author Peter Galvin, and the sixth edition added the author Greg Gagne. As of 18 June 2025^[update] the textbook was in its tenth edition.

References

1. "Covers of Previous Editions". codex.cs.yale.edu.
2. "History of Operating System Concepts Textbook". galvin.info. March 21, 2013.