Learning the UNIX Operating System

In a Nutshell

by Jerry Peek, Grace Todino-Gonguet, John Strang

If you are new to Unix, this concise book will tell you just what you need to get started and no more. Unix was one of the first operating systems written in C, a high-level programming language, and its natural portability and low price made it a popular choice among universities. Initially, two main dialects of Unix existed: one produced by AT&T known as System V, and one developed at UC Berkeley and known as BSD. In recent years, many other dialects have been created, including the highly popular Linux operating system and the new Mac OS X (a derivative of BSD).

Learning the Unix Operating System is a handy book for someone just starting with Unix or Linux, and it's an ideal primer for Mac and PC users of the Internet who need to know a little about Unix on the systems they visit. The fifth edition is the most effective introduction to Unix in print, covering Internet usage for email, file transfers, web browsing, and many major and minor updates to help the reader navigate the ever-expanding capabilities of the operating system:

In response to the popularity of Linux, the book now focuses on the popular bash shell preferred by most Linux users. Since the release of the fourth edition, the Internet and its many functions has become part of most computer user's lives. A new chapter explains how to use ftp, pine for mail, and offers useful knowledge on how to surf the web. Today everyone is concerned about security. With this in mind, the author has included tips throughout the text on security basics, especially in the Internet and networking sections.

The book includes a completely updated quick reference card to make it easier for the reader to access the key functions of the command line.

Genres: Reference, Programming, Technology, Computer Science, Nonfiction, Computers, Textbooks

174 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[Don Victorio]

Some very good take-aways to keep in mind whilst your writing your code.

[Avinash Pawar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a wonderful experience to go through the book. Learning basic UNIX commands is easy with this book.

[Gabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Handy reference for VERY basic shell commands but obviously extremely out of date.

[Jeff Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously, very dated. Still, I am surprised at how much of the book's content is still "relevant."
Read for nostalgia; don't read to learn Unix or Linux. There are better, more modern books for that.

[Didier "Dirac Ghost" Gaulin · Rating 1 out of 5]

A small handbook in order to learn basic commands for the Unix operating system. Oriented for beginners and non-computer scientists in order to use the operating system for work related functionalities. Very short and easy to read. Not for those who wants a deeper set of insight into what is after all the basis of most operating system running our digital world.

[Matthew Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my purposes, this book is perfect for a quick read on basic use of Unix CLI. I work with Unix/Linux CLI infrequently enough to forget - but work with it frequently enough to need the information in a hurry when the time comes.

[Rohan · Rating 2 out of 5]

For absolute n00bs. You're probably better off reading a tutorial off the internet. It's short, so it's probably worth skimming if there's a copy lying around, but it's certainly not worth buying.

[Mridul Singhai · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seems to offer a quick rundown through *nix operating systems for the absolute beginners. I'm not quite sure why I picked up this book, as I have been playing around with *nix for a couple of years now.. I was able to learn a new trick or two by reading this between classes earlier today, and would not recommend it -- as other reviewers pointed out, there's better stuff out in the wild. One thing that comes to my mind is Zed Shaw's book on this topic.