An up-to-date overview of operating systems presented by world-renowned computer scientist and author, Andrew Tanenbaum. This is the first guide to provide balanced coverage between centralized and distributed operating systems. Part I covers processes, memory management, file systems, I/O systems, and deadlocks in single operating system environments. Part II covers communication, synchronization process execution, and file systems in a distributed operating system environment. Includes case studies on UNIX, MACH, AMOEBA, and DOS operating systems.