Operating Systems: Design and Implementation
Operating Systems: Design and Implementation by Andrew Tanenbaumby Andrew Tanenbaum
Ranked 2 of 4 operating systems textbooks by recommenders
People recommend it for a real understanding of kernel internals and core OS concepts. Main caveat: it prints only a subset of the code.
People recommend it for a real understanding of kernel internals and core OS concepts. Main caveat: it prints only a subset of the code.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Deep understanding of kernel internals
“walk away having an genuine understanding of what's going on under the hood in a kernel”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Linux from Scratch” “there's a book that goes into detail about most of the important concepts”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “Two Thousand Line educational operating system released by Cornell University” Preferred over other OS textbooks
“I prefer the Tanenbaum OS books over Stallings.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “Mathematics for Computer Science (2018) [pdf]” “the best operating textbook ever”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “California moves to exempt Linux from its age-verification law after backlash”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Book code is only a subset
“Tanenbaum explicitly mentions multiple times that the book is a subset of the code because it would be too long to print”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Amsterdam Compiler Kit” Code hard to build and run
“I believed the author (like generations of other scholars) until I tried to actually build and run it myself.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Amsterdam Compiler Kit” Seen as a money-making book
“it clearly was a way to make money for him”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Amsterdam Compiler Kit”
Other operating systems textbooks people recommend
The three most recommended other operating systems textbooks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating Systems: Three Easy Piecesby Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau and Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau | 11 | 1 | 92% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Operating Systems: Design and Implementationby Andrew TanenbaumThis page | 7 | 2 | 78% | 4 | — | — |
| Windows Internalsby Russinovich, Solomon and Ionescu | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principlesby William Stallings | 2 | 2 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Computer Networks, Operating Systems, Distributed Systems from Andrew Tanenbaum, same.”
“the best operating textbook ever”
“there's a book that goes into detail about most of the important concepts”
“it clearly was a way to make money for him”
“I believed the author (like generations of other scholars) until I tried to actually build and run it myself.”
“Tanenbaum explicitly mentions multiple times that the book is a subset of the code because it would be too long to print”
“Two excellent examples which come to mind are”
“walk away having an genuine understanding of what's going on under the hood in a kernel”
“I prefer the Tanenbaum OS books over Stallings.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.