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cs341-illinois

cs341-illinois/coursebook

An open-source introductory systems programming textbook in C for Linux and POSIX, used in the University of Illinois CS 341 course.

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What is it?

The Coursebook is a free introductory textbook on systems programming, written for readers who already know a programming language and understand basic assembly. All examples and exercises are in C, which the project chooses as the de-facto language of the Linux kernel. It is the teaching material for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign course CS 341: System Programming.

The project aims to improve on an earlier community wikibook by adding citations, footnotes, extended reading and a glossary. The source is written in LaTeX, and the build produces PDF, Markdown, HTML and EPUB versions of the same content.

Contributors edit the LaTeX sources and rely on an automated build to publish the outputs, and the repository includes a CONTRIBUTING.md file describing the structure and workflow.

Key features

  • 01Covers systems programming topics using C on Linux and POSIX
  • 02Includes citations, footnotes, extended reading and a glossary
  • 03Exports to PDF, Markdown, HTML and EPUB from one source
  • 04Source written in LaTeX with an automated build

Use cases

  • Self-studying systems programming in C on Linux
  • Using as a course textbook for an operating systems or systems programming class
  • Reading a free reference on POSIX APIs, processes and file I/O
  • Contributing to an open-source educational textbook written in LaTeX

Quick start

  1. 1

    Open the latest PDF of the coursebook

  2. 2

    Read CONTRIBUTING.md for how to build the book from source

Things to know

  • No license is specified in the metadata, so reuse terms are unclear.
  • The README gives no build command; building from source requires following CONTRIBUTING.md.

Topics

#systems-programming#linux#posix#textbook#latex#operating-systems#awesome#system-programming#wikibook

FAQ

What is coursebook?
An open-source introductory systems programming textbook in C for Linux and POSIX, used in the University of Illinois CS 341 course. The Coursebook is a free introductory textbook on systems programming, written for readers who already know a programming language and understand basic assembly. All examples and exercises are in C, which the project chooses as the de-facto language of the Linux kernel. It is the teaching material for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign course CS 341: System Programming.
Is coursebook free to use? What license does it have?
coursebook has no declared license. Its code is public, but without a license you have no explicit permission to reuse it; ask the author before relying on it.
Is coursebook still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to coursebook was on Oct 6, 2026.
What can I use coursebook for?
Self-studying systems programming in C on Linux Using as a course textbook for an operating systems or systems programming class Reading a free reference on POSIX APIs, processes and file I/O Contributing to an open-source educational textbook written in LaTeX
How do I install coursebook?
Open the latest PDF of the coursebook Read CONTRIBUTING.md for how to build the book from source
Where can I get coursebook?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/cs341-illinois/coursebook

Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.

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