Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles
Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles by William Stallingsby William Stallings
Ranked 4 of 4 operating systems textbooks by recommenders
Recommended by a couple of commenters as a very good operating systems textbook, though one found it covers too many things out of context.
Recommended by a couple of commenters as a very good operating systems textbook, though one found it covers too many things out of context.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not 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: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not 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
Very good operating systems book
“The Stallings book is very good.”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Software Internals Book Club”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Mentions too many things out of context
“I found it mentions too many out of context things.”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Software Internals Book Club”
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 WOODHULL TANENBAUM | 7 | 2 | 78% | 4 | — | — |
| Windows Internalsby Mark E. Russinovich and David A. Solomon and Alex Ionescu and Andrea Allievi | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principlesby William StallingsThis page | 2 | 2 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I found it mentions too many out of context things.”
“The Stallings book is very good.”
“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.