A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming
2nd Edition
Published on 26. November 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
1080 pages
978-0-13-136736-4 (ISBN)
Description
For use with all versions of Linux, including Ubuntu, (TM) Fedora, (TM) openSUSE, (TM) Red Hat, (R) Debian, Mandriva, Mint, and now OS X, too!
Get more done faster, and become a true Linux guru by mastering the command line!
Learn from hundreds of realistic, high-quality examples
NEW! Coverage of the Mac OS X command line and its unique tools
NEW! Expert primer on automating tasks with Perl
The Most Useful Linux Tutorial and Reference, with Hundreds of High-Quality Examples for Every Distribution-Now Covers OS X and Perl, Too!
To be truly productive with Linux, you need to thoroughly master shells and the command line. Until now, you had to buy two books to gain that mastery: a tutorial on fundamental Linux concepts and techniques, plus a separate reference. Now, there's a far better solution. Renowned Linux expert Mark Sobell has brought together comprehensive, insightful guidance on the tools system administrators, developers, and power users need most, and an outstanding day-to-day reference, both in the same book.
This book is 100 percent distribution and release agnostic: You can use it with any Linux system, now and for years to come. Use Macs, too? This new edition adds comprehensive coverage of the Mac OS X command line, including essential OS X-only tools and utilities other Linux/UNIX books ignore.
Packed with hundreds of high-quality, realistic examples, this book gives you Linux from the ground up: the clearest explanations and most useful knowledge about everything from filesystems to shells, editors to utilities, and programming tools to regular expressions. Sobell has also added an outstanding new primer on Perl, the most important programming tool for Linux admins seeking to automate complex, time-consuming tasks.
A Practical Guide to Linux (R) Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming, Second Edition, is the only book to deliver
Better, more realistic examples covering tasks you'll actually need to perform
Deeper insight, based on Sobell's immense knowledge of every Linux and OS X nook and cranny
A start-to-finish primer on Perl for every system administrator
In-depth coverage of basic and advanced Linux shell programming with bash and tcsh
Practical explanations of 100 core utilities, from aspell to xargs-including Mac OS X specific utilities from ditto to SetFile
All-new coverage of automating remote backups with rsync
Dozens of system security tips, including step-by-step walkthroughs of implementing secure communications using ssh and scp
Tips and tricks for customizing the shell and using it interactively from the command line
Complete guides to high-productivity editing with both vim and emacs
A comprehensive, 286-page command reference section-now with revised and expanded indexes for faster access to the information you need
Instructions for updating systems automatically with apt-get and yum
Dozens of exercises to help you practice and gain confidence
And much more, including coverage of BitTorrent, gawk, sed, find, sort, bzip2, and regular expressions
Get more done faster, and become a true Linux guru by mastering the command line!
Learn from hundreds of realistic, high-quality examples
NEW! Coverage of the Mac OS X command line and its unique tools
NEW! Expert primer on automating tasks with Perl
The Most Useful Linux Tutorial and Reference, with Hundreds of High-Quality Examples for Every Distribution-Now Covers OS X and Perl, Too!
To be truly productive with Linux, you need to thoroughly master shells and the command line. Until now, you had to buy two books to gain that mastery: a tutorial on fundamental Linux concepts and techniques, plus a separate reference. Now, there's a far better solution. Renowned Linux expert Mark Sobell has brought together comprehensive, insightful guidance on the tools system administrators, developers, and power users need most, and an outstanding day-to-day reference, both in the same book.
This book is 100 percent distribution and release agnostic: You can use it with any Linux system, now and for years to come. Use Macs, too? This new edition adds comprehensive coverage of the Mac OS X command line, including essential OS X-only tools and utilities other Linux/UNIX books ignore.
Packed with hundreds of high-quality, realistic examples, this book gives you Linux from the ground up: the clearest explanations and most useful knowledge about everything from filesystems to shells, editors to utilities, and programming tools to regular expressions. Sobell has also added an outstanding new primer on Perl, the most important programming tool for Linux admins seeking to automate complex, time-consuming tasks.
A Practical Guide to Linux (R) Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming, Second Edition, is the only book to deliver
Better, more realistic examples covering tasks you'll actually need to perform
Deeper insight, based on Sobell's immense knowledge of every Linux and OS X nook and cranny
A start-to-finish primer on Perl for every system administrator
In-depth coverage of basic and advanced Linux shell programming with bash and tcsh
Practical explanations of 100 core utilities, from aspell to xargs-including Mac OS X specific utilities from ditto to SetFile
All-new coverage of automating remote backups with rsync
Dozens of system security tips, including step-by-step walkthroughs of implementing secure communications using ssh and scp
Tips and tricks for customizing the shell and using it interactively from the command line
Complete guides to high-productivity editing with both vim and emacs
A comprehensive, 286-page command reference section-now with revised and expanded indexes for faster access to the information you need
Instructions for updating systems automatically with apt-get and yum
Dozens of exercises to help you practice and gain confidence
And much more, including coverage of BitTorrent, gawk, sed, find, sort, bzip2, and regular expressions
Reviews / Votes
Praise for the First Edition of A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming"First Sobell taught people how to use Linux...now he teaches you the power of Linux. A must-have book for anyone who wants to take Linux to the next level."
-Jon "maddog" Hall, Executive Director, Linux International
"This book is a very useful tool for anyone who wants to `look under the hood' so to speak, and really start putting the power of Linux to work. What I find particularly frustrating about man pages is that they never include examples. Sobell, on the other hand, outlines very clearly what the command does and then gives several common, easy-tounderstand examples that make it a breeze to start shell programming on one's own. As with Sobell's other works, this is simple, straight-forward, and easy to read. It's a great book and will stay on the shelf at easy arm's reach for a long time."
-Ray Bartlett, Travel Writer
"Overall I found this book to be quite excellent, and it has earned a spot on the very front of my bookshelf. It covers the real `guts' of Linux-the command line and its utilities-and does so very well. Its strongest points are the outstanding use of examples, and the Command Reference section. Highly recommended for Linux users of all skill levels. Well done to Mark Sobell and Prentice Hall for this outstanding book!"
-Dan Clough, Electronics Engineer and Slackware Linux user
"Totally unlike most Linux books, this book avoids discussing everything via GUI and jumps right into making the power of the command line your friend."
-Bjorn Tipling, Software Engineer, ask.com
"This book is the best distro-agnostic, foundational Linux reference I've ever seen, out of dozens of Linux-related books I've read. Finding this book was a real stroke of luck. If you want to really understand how to get things done at the command line, where the power and flexibility of free UNIX-like OSes really live, this book is among the best tools you'll find toward that end."
-Chad Perrin, Writer, TechRepublic
Praise for Other Books by Mark G. Sobell
"I keep searching for books that collect everything you want to know about a subject in one place, and keep getting disappointed. Usually the books leave out some important topic, while others go too deep in some areas and must skim lightly over the others. A Practical Guide to Red Hat (R) Linux (R) is one of those rare books that actually pulls it off. Mark G. Sobell has created a single reference for Red Hat Linux that can't be beat! This marvelous text (with a 4-CD set of Linux Fedora Core 2 included) is well worth the price. This is as close to an `everything you ever needed to know' book that I've seen. It's just that good and rates 5 out of 5."
-Ray Lodato, Slashdot contributor
"Mark Sobell has written a book as approachable as it is authoritative."
-Jeffrey Bianchine, Advocate, Author, Journalist
"Excellent reference book, well suited for the sysadmin of a Linux cluster, or the owner of a PC contemplating installing a recent stable Linux. Don't be put off by the daunting heft of the book. Sobell has strived to be as inclusive as possible, in trying to anticipate your system administration needs."
-Wes Boudville, Inventor
"A Practical Guide to Red Hat (R) Linux (R) is a brilliant book. Thank you Mark Sobell."
-C. Pozrikidis, University of California at San Diego
"This book presents the best overview of the Linux operating system that I have found. . . . [It] should be very helpful and understandable no matter what the reader's background: traditional UNIX user, new Linux devotee, or even Windows user. Each topic is presented in a clear, complete fashion, and very few assumptions are made about what the reader knows. . . . The book is extremely useful as a reference, as it contains a 70-page glossary of terms and is very well indexed. It is organized in such a way that the reader can focus on simple tasks without having to wade through more advanced topics until they are ready."
-Cam Marshall, Marshall Information Service LLC, Member of Front Range UNIX Users Group [FRUUG], Boulder, Colorado
"Conclusively, this is THE book to get if you are a new Linux user and you just got into the RH/Fedora world. There's no other book that discusses so many different topics and in such depth."
-Eugenia Loli-Queru, Editor in Chief, OSNews.com
More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Upper Saddle River
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 188 mm
Width: 229 mm
Thickness: 46 mm
Weight
1750 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-13-136736-4 (9780131367364)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
09/2012
3rd Edition
Prentice Hall
€45.79
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition
Book
07/2005
Prentice Hall
€35.89
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Mark G. Sobell is President of Sobell Associates Inc., a consulting firm that special-izes in UNIX/Linux training, support, and custom software development. He has more than twenty-five years of experience working with UNIX and Linux systems and is the author of many best-selling books, including A Practical Guide to Fedora (TM) and Red Hat (R) Enterprise Linux (R), Fourth Edition; A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux (R), Second Edition; and A Practical Guide to UNIX (R)for Mac OS (R) X Users (coauthored with Peter Seebach), all from Prentice Hall; and A Practical Guide to the UNIX System from Addison-Wesley.
Content
Preface xxxi
Chapter 1: Welcome to Linux and Mac OS X 1
The History of UNIX and GNU-Linux 2
What Is So Good About Linux? 6
Overview of Linux 11
Additional Features of Linux 16
Chapter Summary 18
Exercises 18
Part I: The Linux and Mac OS X Operating Systems 21
Chapter 2: Getting Started 23
Conventions Used in This Book 24
Logging In from a Terminal or Terminal Emulator 26
Working with the Shell 28
su/sudo: Curbing Your Power (root Privileges) 31
Where to Find Documentation 33
More About Logging In 40
Chapter Summary 43
Exercises 44
Advanced Exercises 44
Chapter 3: The Utilities 45
Special Characters 46
Basic Utilities 47
Working with Files 49
| (Pipe): Communicates Between Processes 56
Four More Utilities 57
Compressing and Archiving Files 60
Locating Commands 65
Obtaining User and System Information 67
Communicating with Other Users 70
Email 72
Chapter Summary 72
Exercises 75
Advanced Exercises 75
Chapter 4: The Filesystem 77
The Hierarchical Filesystem 78
Directory Files and Ordinary Files 78
Pathnames 83
Working with Directories 85
Access Permissions 93
ACLs: Access Control Lists 99
Links 104
Chapter Summary 111
Exercises 112
Advanced Exercises 114
Chapter 5: The Shell 117
The Command Line 118
Standard Input and Standard Output 123
Running a Command in the Background 134
Filename Generation/Pathname Expansion 136
Builtins 141
Chapter Summary 142
Exercises 143
Advanced Exercises 144
Part II: The Editors 147
Chapter 6: The vim Editor 149
History 150
Tutorial: Using vim to Create and Edit a File 151
Introduction to vim Features 158
Command Mode: Moving the Cursor 164
Input Mode 168
Command Mode: Deleting and Changing Text 169
Searching and Substituting 173
Miscellaneous Commands 180
Copying, Moving, and Deleting Text 180
Reading and Writing Files 183
Setting Parameters 184
Advanced Editing Techniques 189
Units of Measure 193
Chapter Summary 196
Exercises 201
Advanced Exercises 202
Chapter 7: The emacs Editor 205
History 206
Tutorial: Getting Started with emacs 208
The emacs GUI 215
Basic Editing Commands 216
Online Help 223
Advanced Editing 225
Major Modes: Language-Sensitive Editing 239
Customizing emacs 249
More Information 254
Chapter Summary 254
Exercises 262
Advanced Exercises 264
Part III: The Shells 267
Chapter 8: The Bourne Again Shell 269
Background 270
Shell Basics 271
Parameters and Variables 290
Special Characters 304
Processes 306
History 308
Aliases 324
Functions 327
Controlling bash: Features and Options 330
Processing the Command Line 334
Chapter Summary 343
Exercises 345
Advanced Exercises 347
Chapter 9: The TC Shell 349
Shell Scripts 350
Entering and Leaving the TC Shell 351
Features Common to the Bourne Again and TC Shells 353
Redirecting Standard Error 359
Working with the Command Line 360
Variables 365
Control Structures 378
Builtins 387
Chapter Summary 391
Exercises 392
Advanced Exercises 394
Part IV: Programming Tools 395
Chapter 10: Programming the Bourne Again Shell 397
Control Structures 398
File Descriptors 431
Parameters and Variables 434
Builtin Commands 446
Expressions 460
Shell Programs 468
Chapter Summary 478
Exercises 480
Advanced Exercises 482
Chapter 11: The Perl Scripting Language 485
Introduction to Perl 486
Variables 493
Control Structures 501
Working with Files 510
Sort 513
Subroutines 515
Regular Expressions 517
CPAN Modules 523
Examples 525
Chapter Summary 529
Exercises 529
Advanced Exercises 530
Chapter 12: The AWK Pattern Processing Language 531
Syntax 532
Arguments 532
Options 533
Notes 534
Language Basics 534
Examples 541
Advanced gawk Programming 558
Chapter Summary 563
Exercises 563
Advanced Exercises 564
Chapter 13: The sed Editor 565
Syntax 566
Arguments 566
Options 566
Editor Basics 567
Examples 570
Chapter Summary 581
Exercises 581
Chapter 14: The rsync Secure Copy Utility 583
Syntax 584
Arguments 584
Options 584
Examples 587
Chapter Summary 594
Exercises 594
Part V: Command Reference 597
Standard Multiplicative Suffixes 602
Common Options 603
The sample Utility 604
Part VI: Appendixes 885
Appendix A: Regular Expressions 887
Characters 888
Delimiters 888
Simple Strings 888
Special Characters 888
Rules 891
Bracketing Expressions 892
The Replacement String 892
Extended Regular Expressions 893
Appendix Summary 895
Appendix B: Help 897
Solving a Problem 898
The Apple Web Site 899
Finding Linux and OS X-Related Information 899
Specifying a Terminal 906
Appendix C: Keeping the System Up-to-Date 909
Using yum 910
Using apt-get 916
BitTorrent 921
Appendix D: Mac OS X Notes 925
Open Directory 926
Filesystems 927
Extended Attributes 928
Activating the META Key 935
Startup Files 936
Remote Logins 936
Many Utilities Do Not Respect Apple Human Interface Guidelines 936
Mac OS X Implementation of Linux Features 936
Glossary 939
File Tree Index 989
Utility Index 991
Main Index 995
Chapter 1: Welcome to Linux and Mac OS X 1
The History of UNIX and GNU-Linux 2
What Is So Good About Linux? 6
Overview of Linux 11
Additional Features of Linux 16
Chapter Summary 18
Exercises 18
Part I: The Linux and Mac OS X Operating Systems 21
Chapter 2: Getting Started 23
Conventions Used in This Book 24
Logging In from a Terminal or Terminal Emulator 26
Working with the Shell 28
su/sudo: Curbing Your Power (root Privileges) 31
Where to Find Documentation 33
More About Logging In 40
Chapter Summary 43
Exercises 44
Advanced Exercises 44
Chapter 3: The Utilities 45
Special Characters 46
Basic Utilities 47
Working with Files 49
| (Pipe): Communicates Between Processes 56
Four More Utilities 57
Compressing and Archiving Files 60
Locating Commands 65
Obtaining User and System Information 67
Communicating with Other Users 70
Email 72
Chapter Summary 72
Exercises 75
Advanced Exercises 75
Chapter 4: The Filesystem 77
The Hierarchical Filesystem 78
Directory Files and Ordinary Files 78
Pathnames 83
Working with Directories 85
Access Permissions 93
ACLs: Access Control Lists 99
Links 104
Chapter Summary 111
Exercises 112
Advanced Exercises 114
Chapter 5: The Shell 117
The Command Line 118
Standard Input and Standard Output 123
Running a Command in the Background 134
Filename Generation/Pathname Expansion 136
Builtins 141
Chapter Summary 142
Exercises 143
Advanced Exercises 144
Part II: The Editors 147
Chapter 6: The vim Editor 149
History 150
Tutorial: Using vim to Create and Edit a File 151
Introduction to vim Features 158
Command Mode: Moving the Cursor 164
Input Mode 168
Command Mode: Deleting and Changing Text 169
Searching and Substituting 173
Miscellaneous Commands 180
Copying, Moving, and Deleting Text 180
Reading and Writing Files 183
Setting Parameters 184
Advanced Editing Techniques 189
Units of Measure 193
Chapter Summary 196
Exercises 201
Advanced Exercises 202
Chapter 7: The emacs Editor 205
History 206
Tutorial: Getting Started with emacs 208
The emacs GUI 215
Basic Editing Commands 216
Online Help 223
Advanced Editing 225
Major Modes: Language-Sensitive Editing 239
Customizing emacs 249
More Information 254
Chapter Summary 254
Exercises 262
Advanced Exercises 264
Part III: The Shells 267
Chapter 8: The Bourne Again Shell 269
Background 270
Shell Basics 271
Parameters and Variables 290
Special Characters 304
Processes 306
History 308
Aliases 324
Functions 327
Controlling bash: Features and Options 330
Processing the Command Line 334
Chapter Summary 343
Exercises 345
Advanced Exercises 347
Chapter 9: The TC Shell 349
Shell Scripts 350
Entering and Leaving the TC Shell 351
Features Common to the Bourne Again and TC Shells 353
Redirecting Standard Error 359
Working with the Command Line 360
Variables 365
Control Structures 378
Builtins 387
Chapter Summary 391
Exercises 392
Advanced Exercises 394
Part IV: Programming Tools 395
Chapter 10: Programming the Bourne Again Shell 397
Control Structures 398
File Descriptors 431
Parameters and Variables 434
Builtin Commands 446
Expressions 460
Shell Programs 468
Chapter Summary 478
Exercises 480
Advanced Exercises 482
Chapter 11: The Perl Scripting Language 485
Introduction to Perl 486
Variables 493
Control Structures 501
Working with Files 510
Sort 513
Subroutines 515
Regular Expressions 517
CPAN Modules 523
Examples 525
Chapter Summary 529
Exercises 529
Advanced Exercises 530
Chapter 12: The AWK Pattern Processing Language 531
Syntax 532
Arguments 532
Options 533
Notes 534
Language Basics 534
Examples 541
Advanced gawk Programming 558
Chapter Summary 563
Exercises 563
Advanced Exercises 564
Chapter 13: The sed Editor 565
Syntax 566
Arguments 566
Options 566
Editor Basics 567
Examples 570
Chapter Summary 581
Exercises 581
Chapter 14: The rsync Secure Copy Utility 583
Syntax 584
Arguments 584
Options 584
Examples 587
Chapter Summary 594
Exercises 594
Part V: Command Reference 597
Standard Multiplicative Suffixes 602
Common Options 603
The sample Utility 604
Part VI: Appendixes 885
Appendix A: Regular Expressions 887
Characters 888
Delimiters 888
Simple Strings 888
Special Characters 888
Rules 891
Bracketing Expressions 892
The Replacement String 892
Extended Regular Expressions 893
Appendix Summary 895
Appendix B: Help 897
Solving a Problem 898
The Apple Web Site 899
Finding Linux and OS X-Related Information 899
Specifying a Terminal 906
Appendix C: Keeping the System Up-to-Date 909
Using yum 910
Using apt-get 916
BitTorrent 921
Appendix D: Mac OS X Notes 925
Open Directory 926
Filesystems 927
Extended Attributes 928
Activating the META Key 935
Startup Files 936
Remote Logins 936
Many Utilities Do Not Respect Apple Human Interface Guidelines 936
Mac OS X Implementation of Linux Features 936
Glossary 939
File Tree Index 989
Utility Index 991
Main Index 995