The Unix and Internet Fundamentals HOWTO

by Eric S. Raymond

1. Introduction

• 1.1 Purpose of this document

2. What's new

• 2.1 Related resources
• 2.2 New versions of this document
• 2.3 Feedback and corrections

3. Basic anatomy of your computer

4. What happens when you switch on a computer?

5. What happens when you log in?

6. What happens when you run programs from the shell?

7. How do input devices and interrupts work?

8. How does my computer do several things at once?

9. How does my computer keep processes from stepping on each other?

10. How does my computer store things in memory?

• 10.1 Numbers
• 10.2 Characters

11. How does my computer store things on disk?

• 11.1 Low-level disk and file system structure
• 11.2 File names and directories
• 11.3 Mount points
• 11.4 How a file gets looked up
• 11.5 File ownership, permissions and security
• 11.6 How things can go wrong

12. How do computer languages work?

• 12.1 Compiled languages
• 12.2 Interpreted languages
• 12.3 P-code languages

13. How does the Internet work?

• 13.1 Names and locations
• 13.2 Packets and routers
• 13.3 TCP and IP
• 13.4 HTTP, an application protocol