Think UNIX
Published on 21. July 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-7897-2376-5 (ISBN)
Description
Unix has a reputation for being cryptic and difficult to learn, but it doesn't need to be that way. Think Unix takes an analogous approach to that of a grammar book. Rather than teaching individual words or phrases like most books, Think Unix teaches the set of logical structures to be learned. Myriad examples help you learn individual commands, and practice problems at the end of difficult sections help you learn the practical side of Unix. Strong attention is paid to learning how to read "man pages," the standard documentation on all Unix systems, including Linux. While most books simply tell you that man pages exist and spend some time teaching how to use the man command, none spend any significant amount of space teaching how to use the content of the man pages. Even if you are lost at the Unix command prompt, you can learn subsystems that are specific to the Unix flavor.
More details
Person
Jon Lasser is a Unix systems administrator with six years of Linux and Unix experience and is responsible for several hundred Unix-based systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He speaks at numerous conferences on the Bastille Linux Project, for which he is development coordinator. He can be reached at jon@umbc.edu.
Content
Introduction.
About This Book.
I. UNIX CONCEPTS.
1. Unix Documentation.
Words of Warning. Reading Man Pages. Documentation Hide-and-Go-Seek. Suggested Exercises.
2. Files and Processes.
Files. Processes.
3. Redirection and Pipes.
Redirection. Pipes.
4. Networking.
A Broad Overview of Networking. Talking with Other Machines. Using Machines Remotely.
5. vi, Dotfiles, and Regular Expressions.
Surviving vi. Thriving in vi. Regular Expressions.
II. SHELL CONCEPTS.
6. Muddling Through Shells.
Shell Wars. Fixing Mistakes. Job Control.
7. Variables and Quoting.
Variables. Practice Problems. Quoting. Practice Problems.
8. Conditional Execution and Loops.
Sequential Execution. Conditional Execution. Practice Problems. Loops. Practice Problems.
9. Shell Scripts and More.
Grouping Commands. Aliases and Functions. Practice Problems. Shell Scripts. Practice Problems.
III. X WINDOW SYSTEM CONCEPTS.
10. Thinking Like X.
What X Does Differently. Nuts and Bolts. Desktop Environments. Something Useful: xterm. Suggested Exercises.
11. Configuring X.
Starting X. Command-Line Options. Suggested Exercises. X Resources. Suggested Exercises. Color Names and Numbers. Fonts. Listing Fonts. A Few Final Words.
IV. APPENDIXES.
A. Answers to Practice Problems.
B. Glossary and References.
Index.
About This Book.
I. UNIX CONCEPTS.
1. Unix Documentation.
Words of Warning. Reading Man Pages. Documentation Hide-and-Go-Seek. Suggested Exercises.
2. Files and Processes.
Files. Processes.
3. Redirection and Pipes.
Redirection. Pipes.
4. Networking.
A Broad Overview of Networking. Talking with Other Machines. Using Machines Remotely.
5. vi, Dotfiles, and Regular Expressions.
Surviving vi. Thriving in vi. Regular Expressions.
II. SHELL CONCEPTS.
6. Muddling Through Shells.
Shell Wars. Fixing Mistakes. Job Control.
7. Variables and Quoting.
Variables. Practice Problems. Quoting. Practice Problems.
8. Conditional Execution and Loops.
Sequential Execution. Conditional Execution. Practice Problems. Loops. Practice Problems.
9. Shell Scripts and More.
Grouping Commands. Aliases and Functions. Practice Problems. Shell Scripts. Practice Problems.
III. X WINDOW SYSTEM CONCEPTS.
10. Thinking Like X.
What X Does Differently. Nuts and Bolts. Desktop Environments. Something Useful: xterm. Suggested Exercises.
11. Configuring X.
Starting X. Command-Line Options. Suggested Exercises. X Resources. Suggested Exercises. Color Names and Numbers. Fonts. Listing Fonts. A Few Final Words.
IV. APPENDIXES.
A. Answers to Practice Problems.
B. Glossary and References.
Index.