Recommended books about OS Linux

Portable, powerful, and a breeze to use, Python is ideal for both standalone programs and scripting applications. With this hands-on book, you can master the fundamentals of the core Python language quickly and efficiently, whether you're new to programming or just new to Python. Once you finish, you will know enough about the language to use it in any application domain you choose. Learning Python is based on material from author Mark Lutz's popular training courses, which he's taught over the past decade. Each chapter is a self-contained lesson that helps you thoroughly understand a key component of Python before you continue. Along with plenty of annotated examples, illustrations, and chapter summaries, every chapter also contains Brain Builder, a unique section with practical exercises and review quizzes that let you practice new skills and test your understanding as you go. This book covers: Types and Operations -- Python's major built-in object types in depth: numbers, lists, dictionaries, and more Statements and Syntax -- the code you type to create and process objects in Python, along with Python's general syntax model Functions -- Python's basic procedural tool for structuring and reusing code Modules -- packages of statements, functions, and other tools organized into larger components Classes and OOP -- Python's optional object-oriented programming tool for structuring code for customization and reuse Exceptions and Tools -- exception handling model and statements, plus a look at development tools for writing larger programs. Learning Python gives you a deep and complete understanding of the language that will help you comprehend any application-level examples of Python that you later encounter. If you're ready to discover what Google and YouTube see in Python, this book is the best way to get started.

The authors of Learning Python show you enough essentials of the Python scripting language to enable you to begin solving problems right away, then reveal more powerful aspects of the language one at a time. This approach is sure to appeal to programmers and system administrators who have urgent problems and a preference for learning by semi-guided experimentation.

First off, Learning Python shows the relationships among Python scripts and their interpreter (in a mostly platform-neutral way). Then, the authors address the mechanics of the language itself, providing illustrations of how Python conceives of numbers, strings, and other objects as well as the operators you use to work with them. Dictionaries, lists, tuples, and other data structures specific to Python receive plenty of attention including complete examples.

Authors Mark Lutz and David Ascher build on that fundamental information in their discussions of functions and modules, which evolve into coverage of namespaces, classes, and the object-oriented aspects of Python programming. There's also information on creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for Python applications with Tkinter.

In addition to its careful expository prose, Learning Python includes exercises that both test your Python skills and help reveal more elusive truths about the language.

I just spent a few days going through this book and learned a lot. I've been working with PHP for years, but never did much complicated code. I studied Java about 8 years ago also and learned a lot about OOP from that. But never did any programming in Java. So it was all concept, no experience.

My reason for reading this book was to start using Python with Django. I wanted to learn Python first so I would understand the framework better.

This book covers in excruciating detail many of the finer qualities of just about everything you can imagine being in the language. I'm sure it doesn't cover everything the language can do. But somehow it spends 600 plus pages going over details that I wouldn't expect to find even if I was reading a 300 page book called "What I was thinking when I wrote this particular function on July 3rd 1991"

If something can be explained by 2 lines of example code and a three sentence paragraph about what's going on, the author does that -after 2 pages of explanation of how this code you are about to see might be a little like C, but it's a little different too, and how what you are going to learn is really powerful, and how some students might notice that the code is similar in structure to the code that you will see on page 400 later in the book.

If you think my review is way too verbose, read the book.

I give it 3 stars because it was in fact clear and well communicated information. It was just often hard to keep reading past all the unnecessary words to get to the useful content.

As a newcomer to Python, I find this book educational but somewhat inadequate for getting one's feet wet with a new programming language. Essentially all the sample code in the book is in the form of very short snippets run from the command line. There is almost nothing in the way of a full-blown sample Python program showing the reader what it's all supposed to look like in the end.

Python's strengths as a programming language are ostensibly its readability and ease of use, but you get no sense of that reading this book. All you get is bits and pieces that you have to glue together somehow. It's neither a complete technical manual nor a good introductory book for the novice programmer. The book is useful, but I would hope that there are better titles out there.

I wanted to like this book. As a general rule, I give the benefit of a doubt to O'Reilly books, and rarely am I mistaken. But this was one of the rare exceptions. In my experience, there are two trains of thought when it comes to learning a programming language:
1) Start right in with a book, using it to familiarize yourself with the language while you use the language to start fleshing out stuff that you learn in the book -- let's call this the "synergistic" or maybe "complementary" approach: using the book complements the coding you try, which, in turn, lets you put stuff you're learning into a workable framework.
2) Read the whole book through, and then apply what you've learned.

Personally, I don't know anyone with a good enough memory to really be able to pull off #2. But, honestly, it's more about patience than memory: people get excited about a language, and want to start using it. Having to (pretty much) read a whole book before you can start digging in is a bit of an anti-climax. The problem is that that's what you have to do with _Learning Python_. For example, one of the fundamentals of almost all programming languages is how looping is accomplished. In _Learning Python_, looping isn't discussed in detail until you're almost *250* pages into the book. Instead, the very, very fundamentals of the language are gone over in excruciating detail. Honestly, if you'd never programmed before, this might actually be a helpful, good thing. If, on the other hand, you've had pretty much any other programming experience, the pace is slow and tedious. I found myself yearning to be *doing* something, and instead was just plodding along.

If you have had previous programming experience, and are relatively well-versed with how languages work, I have to recommend _Python Essential Reference_ by David M. Beazley. Just read its first chapter in the bookstore, and you'll find yourself becoming quickly enlightened.

Like my title suggests, if you have programming experience and you do not mind or have little trouble reading the Python documentation in a online fashion then its probably not absolutely necessary that you have to buy the book.

However, the author is very good in instilling the nature of Python programming and he's good at getting you to think about the concepts but this book is definitely not a cookbook. Last thing is that it doesn't concentrate on the GUI nor library usage etc as it's mission is simply to teach you about the core of Python

This book is great! Good writing, good exercises. Good for people who have some experience in programming. If you have never had any contact to other languages or logic, consider studying some introdutory topics before reading this book.

O'Reilly's bestselling book on Linux's bash shell is at it again. Now that Linux is an established player both as a server and on the desktop "Learning the bash Shell" has been updated and refreshed to account for all the latest changes. Indeed, this third edition serves as the most valuable guide yet to the bash shell.

As any good programmer knows, the first thing users of the Linux operating system come face to face with is the shell the UNIX term for a user interface to the system. In other words, it's what lets you communicate with the computer via the keyboard and display. Mastering the bash shell might sound fairly simple but it isn't. In truth, there are many complexities that need careful explanation, which is just what "Learning the bash Shell" provides.

If you are new to shell programming, the book provides an excellent introduction, covering everything from the most basic to the most advanced features. And if you've been writing shell scripts for years, it offers a great way to find out what the new shell offers. "Learning the bash Shell" is also full of practical examples of shell commands and programs that will make everyday use of Linux that much easier. With this book, programmers will learn:

How to install bash as your login shell

The basics of interactive shell use, including UNIX file and directory structures, standard I/O, and background jobs

Command line editing, history substitution, and key bindings

How to customize your shell environment without programming

The nuts and bolts of basic shell programming, flow control structures, command-line options and typed variables

Process handling, from job control to processes, coroutines andsubshells

Debugging techniques, such as trace and verbose modes

Techniques for implementing system-wide shell customization and features related to system security

This book provided a solid resource to start writing shell scripts in bash. It is well written, and also provides understanding into some bash features that go beyond just a reference book.

I first bought this book over 12 years ago, and I still use it as the standard by which other books are measured. It must be one of my top 5 favorite computer books, ever.

The author clearly understands the material, and makes it approachable, direct, and easy to learn without being too light or condescending. I wish the same could be said of Java books.

"Learning the bash Shell" is the right size and right price, too. Perfect in every way.

O'Reilly kind of took a turn for the worse in the late '90s / early 2000s, but this was originally published back when they were good the first time. (They've since recovered, IMO)

If you have need to learn the bash shell, you can't go wrong with this one.

shipping fast!! =D nice comunication and information :D
sorry for later review:)
-]Raul[-

I have owned this book for awhile, and over the years it has been my only reference to the bash shell I have felt a need for.

The only down points I have seen in this book is that some of the info seems to be seperated out a bit, making some info hard to find at times (although if you have a hard time using an index, well, bash may be a bit advanced for you), but everything is covered well, and the appendixes are fairly good.

More than you ever wanted to learn about the bash shell. Good reference for sysadmins.

The key to mastering any Unix system, especially Linux and Mac OS X, is a thorough knowledge of shell scripting. Scripting is a way to harness and customize the power of any Unix system, and it's an essential skill for any Unix users, including system administrators and professional OS X developers. But beneath this simple promise lies a treacherous ocean of variations in Unix commands and standards.

"bash Cookbook" teaches shell scripting the way Unix masters practice the craft. It presents a variety of recipes and tricks for all levels of shell programmers so that anyone can become a proficient user of the most common Unix shell -- the bash shell -- and cygwin or other popular Unix emulation packages. Packed full of useful scripts, along with examples that explain how to create better scripts, this new cookbook gives professionals and power users everything they need to automate routine tasks and enable them to truly manage their systems -- rather than have their systems manage them.

More than ten years after the first edition of Learning the bash Shell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) came out, there appeared a book that sums up all the experience and expertise the authors have gained since those times using this shell. If you're new to Unix/Linux, start with the work linked in above, but if you have been using either of these systems for some time and you would like to learn how to make your life easier, then this is the book for you.

Why? Because it concentrates on teaching you how to solve your problems. After a brief introduction and setting the basics the real depth begins: 1. a problem, 2. developing a solution, 3. evaluating the solution. And lots of examples. Naturally, the first step is to recognise that you have a problem, which the book also teaches you: some people tend to suffer while doing a repetitive and uninteresting chore but does not even occur to them that it does not need to be so: they can turn the chore into a hunt for automatisation putting their brain to some creative use, so instead of numbing their mind they start sharping it, and this is exactly where this book comes in.

Presently, amazon.com does not offer you a look into the book, but you can have a preview of every chapter and also a full view of the table of contents at the publisher's page: http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596526788/toc.html. Than come back here, as Amazon's price is much better. (At the time of writing this, there is a 37% discount.)

When I read the description the book said that "bash Cookbook" teaches shell scripting the way Unix masters practice the craft." Not even close. This book doesn't teach a thing. All it gives is "recipes-" solutions for problems that you may never even encounter. Also, these recipes are directed at people with a ton of experience in the shell already. They reference tons of commands with functions that vary over the entirety of what the shell can do without even an index that gives one sentence descriptions of the commands. I'm a novice. I don't know what cat, grep, eval, etc. do. And it is very annoying to have to read the book with my computer in my lap so I can reference the man pages. If you are a novice don't buy this book.

This book is indeed a "Cookbook"; nice examples on how to do lots of stuff. It is nicely categorized and the explanations/discussions are easy to follow. The authors seem to have lots of experience, and are honest enough to even explain when NOT to use bash; when for example perl would do better.

Highly recommended if you want to get stuff done using bash.

Currently this is the only book that specifically covers bash 3.2, the version that contain new and interesting features like =~ operator for "normal" regular expression matching.

The main advantage of the book that it really covers a lot of ground and provides system administrators and users with a lot of good and difficult to find tips about customizing of the environment and making yourself more productive.

Chapters 5-6 which provide good overview of new features introduced in version 3.x including "normal" regular expressions pattern matching ( operator =~) and C-style for loop. One problem with shells traditionally use two completely obsolete notations for regular expressions (basic regular expression often known as DOS-style regular expressions plus quite perverse prefix notation ). Bash 3.2 did not fixes this problem as this is a problem of Unix in general (Unix can be called an Os that uses a dozen of different definitions of regular expressions :-) that but at least added a normal regular expression notion to the list.

After chapters 5 and 6 I recommend reading chapters 9, 17 and 19 and then the rest. While chapters are of very uneven quality, usually you can find at least one useful tip in each.

The spectrum of bash related tips and useful mini-scripts is quote substantial. The authors cover classic things like customizing prompt quite well. The book is not only about bash it covers a lot of ground including use of classic Unix utilities in scripting (most notably grep, find, sort, and date) along with related topics such as use of pipes and I/O redirection.

Of course for such a complex topic there are some shortcomings. It's a pretty difficult task to write a good cookbook but authors did an excellent job and provided many very valuable tips that can help to improve both system administrators and power users productivity.

One of the problems for a cookbook is a good organization and specifically a good starting chapter and here authors failed. Some chapters are half-baked. The Chapter about version control is badly written and very superficial. The authors just mention a couple of system without any details. And in this topic the devil is in details.

Some bash features are explained superficially. For example bash has horrible implementation of pushd/popd/dirs troika and it not that easy to use them productively. One notable deficiency is that there is no way to suppress duplicates which in essence make this feature almost unusable. The authors treatment looks like a baseless advertizing of a poorly implemented feature.

But I hope that the authors will improve the book in the next edition and I am reluctant to downgrade the book based on those flaws. After all, this is a cookbook and it should be judged by the best recipes not the worst.

These O'Reilly Cookbooks should be on every sysadmin's shelf. The Bash Cookbook is no different. Incredibly useful book. I didn't read it cover to cover but have gone back to it at least 15-20 times to pull out nuggets of info. The real-world, practical examples and solutions offered in this book provide the sysadmin with a virtual swiss army knife when working with bash.

Book was so useful, I bought two extra copies and sent them to coworkers.

As an open operating system, Unix can be improved on by anyone and everyone: individuals, companies, universities, and more. As a result, the very nature of Unix has been altered over the years by numerous extensions formulated in an assortment of versions. Today, Unix encompasses everything from Sun's Solaris to Apple's Mac OS X and more varieties of Linux than you can easily name.

The latest edition of this bestselling reference brings Unix into the 21st century. It's been reworked to keep current with the broader state of Unix in today's world and highlight the strengths of this operating system in all its various flavors.

Detailing all Unix commands and options, the informative guide provides generous descriptions and examples that put those commands in context. Here are some of the new features you'll find in "Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition":

Solaris 10, the latest version of the SVR4-based operating system, GNU/Linux, and Mac OS X

Bash shell (along with the 1988 and 1993 versions of ksh)

tsch shell (instead of the original Berkeley csh)

Package management programs, used for program installation on popular GNU/Linux systems, Solaris and Mac OS X

GNU Emacs Version 21

Introduction to source code management systems

Concurrent versions system

Subversion version control system

GDB debugger

As Unix has progressed, certain commands that were once critical have fallen into disuse. To that end, the book has also dropped material that is no longer relevant, keeping it taut and current.

If you're a Unix user or programmer, you'll recognize the value of this complete, up-to-date Unix reference. With chapter overviews, specificexamples, and detailed command.

This is in my opinion the best UNIX reference book on the market today. If you need to program or work in the OS you should own this book.

I've got two versions of this book: the blue cover version and the one that came in my CD bookshelf. I'm usually quite positive about nutshell books. Usually.

While this is pretty much the only one-stop Unix reference in town when you don't have the man pages to hand, there are some perplexing omissions from the "unix command" section. Nothing to do with networking, for example. No netstat, ifconfig, nslookup. Odd, in a world when a non-networked computer is surely a rarity. Yes, the stuff is probably in the networking O'Reilly books (mine are on order as I type) but you'd think in this day and age...

Yesterday I was flipping through and noticed there was no entry for "mount" or "umount" either.

You should probably own one of these if you have a job in the Unix computing biz, but before long you might find yourself asking "what will I need today that won't be in a nutshell?"

Seriously, O'Reilly should be looking into rewriting this little gem to make it properly comprehensive again.

Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

Not a useful book for someone who wants to learn unix. It can be used for reference for someone who already knows UNIX. I bought it hoping that it will be a good introduction and summary. Disappointed.

Why did i buy this, for the simple reason as a new user a good comprehensive reference is extremely usefull and handy, and this is it, this is something i will all use or keep close at hand.

For those of you with the "animal" bookshelf, this is one of the better books to own. Lots of the stuff you need to know, but can never totally remember is here.

If you're a developer or system administrator lured to Mac OS X because of its Unix roots, you'll quickly discover that performing Unix tasks on a Mac is different than what you're accustomed to. Mac OS X for Unix Geeks serves as a bridge between Apple's Darwin OS and the more traditional Unix systems. This clear, concise guide gives you a tour of Mac OS X's Unix shell in both Leopard and Tiger, and helps you find the facilities that replace or correspond to standard Unix utilities. You'll learn how to perform common Unix tasks in Mac OS X, such as using Directory Services instead of the standard Unix /etc/passwd and /etc/group, and you'll be able to compile code, link to libraries, and port Unix software using either Leopard and Tiger. This book teaches you to: Navigate the Terminal and understand how it differs from an xterm Use Open Directory (LDAP) and NetInfo as well as Directory Services Compile your code with GCC 4 Port Unix programs to Mac OS X with Fink Use MacPorts to install free/open source software Search through metadata with Spotlight's command-line utilities Build the Darwin kernel

And there's much more. Mac OS X for Unix Geeks is the ideal survival guide to tame the Unix side of Leopard and Tiger. If you're a Unix geek with an interest in Mac OS X, you'll soon find that this book is invaluable.

It's about time: Mac OS X for Unix Geeks arrives on the scene none too soon for UNIX aficionados who, having heard that the latest editions of Mac OS are based on a UNIX variant, want to see how the platform compares to more venerable versions of the eminently configurable operating system. This book highlights some key differences between the Darwin environment and more conventional UNIXs, enabling people with UNIX experience to take advantage of it as they learn the Mac OS X way of doing things at the command line.

This skinny volume neither aims to teach its readers UNIX nor introduce them to the Mac, but rather to show how Apple has implemented UNIX. It's a fast read that assumes--as the title implies--rather a lot of UNIX knowledge. With that requirement satisfied and this book in hand, you're likely to discover aspects of Aqua more quickly than you otherwise would have.

The authors spend lots of time explaining how administrative tasks--such as managing groups, users, and passwords--are handled in the Mac OS environment. They document netinfo fully, and call attention to its limitations (like its inability to create home directories for users) by explaining how to do the job on the command line. They also cover C programming in the Darwin universe at greater length than any other book does, providing explicit instructions for such important tasks as creating header files and linking static libraries. A guide to the command line (they call the reference section--groan--"The Missing Manpages") provides good value at this book's conclusion. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to get around in Darwin, the UNIX implementation built into Mac OS X. Sections deal with basic maneuvering at the command line, LDAP services, C programming, and graphical user interfaces under Aqua. There's a short section on building the kernel itself, but it's limited in scope.

I have been using Mac OS X since the first public beta, and have some other Unix experience. I must say, this book has taken me a long way towards applying the things I know about other Unix environments to Mac OS X. Despite my Mac OS X experience, I feel that this book has taught me a lot about the Darwin flavor of Unix. As an added bonus, the book's careful explinations have helped me to better understand the other Unix platforms I have worked with.All and all, this was a good, if technical, book. Perfect for anybody who is interested in porting Unix software to Mac OS X, as well as the Unix admin who wants to get the most out of the new environment. However, unlike the title maintains, you don't have to be a Unix geek to get something worthwhile from the reading - though you may consider yourself one after carefully going through this book.My only complaint is that the book leaves you wanting more information in some areas. Thankfully, it is always quick to point you to other O'Reilly titles that fill in the gaps.

Be more productive and make your life easier. That's what "LDAP System Administration" is all about.

System administrators often spend a great deal of time managing configuration information located on many different machines: usernames, passwords, printer configurations, email client configurations, and network filesystem configurations, to name a few. LDAPv3 provides tools for centralizing all of the configuration information and placing it under your control. Rather than maintaining several administrative databases (NIS, Active Directory, Samba, and NFS configuration files), you can make changes in only one place and have all your systems immediately "see" the updated information.

Practically platform independent, this book uses the widely available, open source OpenLDAP 2 directory server as a premise for examples, showing you how to use it to help you manage your configuration information effectively and securely. OpenLDAP 2 ships with most Linux(R) distributions and Mac OS(R) X, and can be easily downloaded for most Unix-based systems. After introducing the workings of a directory service and the LDAP protocol, all aspects of building and installing OpenLDAP, plus key ancillary packages like SASL and OpenSSL, this book discusses:

Configuration and access control

Distributed directories; replication and referral

Using OpenLDAP to replace NIS

Using OpenLDAP to manage email configurations

Using LDAP for abstraction with FTP and HTTP servers, Samba, and Radius

Interoperating with different LDAP servers, including Active Directory

Programming using Net:: LDAP

If you want to be a master of your domain, "LDAP System Administration" will help you get upand running quickly regardless of which LDAP version you use. After reading this book, even with no previous LDAP experience, you'll be able to integrate a directory server into essential network services such as mail, DNS, HTTP, and SMB/CIFS.

Although it spends a lot of time talking about OpenLDAP, the version is covers is outdated. I would also have hoped to find more information about how to choose which schema's. The email section does not mention the different attempts at standardizing a schema.

I am giving this 3 stars because it does a fair job of explaining basic LDAP structure. It does a fairly good job on administration of just LDAP but LDAP is usually used as a base upon which other applications rely upon.

If you are trying to integrate something with LDAP, as I was, then this is not the book for that. Also, this book is a little dated as it does not cover openLDAP 2.4. SLURPD is no longer used for replication in the latest openLDAP 2.4 releases...

The author does make an attempt at application integration but does an extremely poor job of it. For example, on the topic of Replacing NIS there is absolutely no mention of NSCD (Name Server Caching Daemon) which is included on every major Linux distribution. If you are integrating Samba with openLDAP, then it's crucial that you understand how NSCD works as it can cause Samba to break yet all the Linux tool-sets continue working.

If you have this book, then on page 113, the author talks about optimizing nss_ldap searches which is good. But later in the book on page 168 on the topic of Samba integration, there is no mention of the fact that you may, and most likely, need to revisit the contents of page 113 again. Samba and associated tools, by default, create a Computers container to hold computer accounts. If you implemented the searches as described on page-113 alone, you find you can not join workstations to a samba domain unless you also include a line that reads:

nss_base_passwd ou=computers,dc=plainjoe,dc=org?one

I sense that some attention to detail is lost considering the 2nd half of the book is on application integration and things like I just explained are left out. I suppose one could argue that you should have learned this after reading page 113 but it would have saved me some time if it was mentioned...

I would recommend this book as a companion to other openLDAP books that do a better job of covering application integration. I give this 3 stars because the Active Directory coverage and reference seems pretty good and the coverage of .conf file settings seems good.

I'm happy with this book. It's a little out of date and the details are getting a bit, shall we say, "off". However, it is a much better set of documentation that rummaging through the RFCs and paltry OpenLDAP README content :)

This book is written a while ago and it definitely needs update. It frequently refers to RFCs and states "blah blah is not yet accepted as standard" but probably it is accepted as one by now.

The organization of this book is a little chaotic. When I read it from the chapter 1, introduction, it was still not clear what I was getting into. After reading it all, I still think the introduction was not very helpful. I don't think reading this book from cover to cover all through would help a lot.

Nonetheless, after reading through this book with actual practice (installing OpenLDAP and running the examples as the book illustrated), I got good grasp of the concepts of LDAP and understanding how it works.

I like its practical examples and connection to other applications.

In conclusion, I feel I spent my money well on this book.

Another great O'reilly book. O'reilly, IMHO are the best technical books.

Praise for Mark Sobell's Books "If you want to become a real Linux guru, this is one of the better books available. Readable, straightforward, educational, it is a superb reference that blends the educational aspect of a typical book on learning Linux with a typical book of command line references. I highly recommend A Practical Guide to Linux(R) Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming." --Harold D. McFarland, Editor, Readers Preference Reviews "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 cannot 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 striven 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 is: 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.comThe Most Useful UNIX Guide for Mac OS X Users Ever, with Hundreds of High-Quality Examples! Beneath Mac OS(R) X's stunning graphical user interface (GUI) is the most powerful operating system ever created: UNIX(R). With unmatched clarity and insight, this book explains UNIX for the Mac OS X user--giving you total control over your system, so you can get more done, faster. Building on Mark Sobell's highly praised A Practical Guide to the UNIX System, it delivers comprehensive guidance on the UNIX command line tools every user, administrator, and developer needs to master--together with the world's best day-to-day UNIX reference. This book is packed with hundreds of high-quality examples.From networking and system utilities to shells and programming, this is UNIX from the ground up--both the "whys" and the "hows"--for every Mac user. You'll understand the relationships between GUI tools and their command line counterparts. Need instant answers? Don't bother with confusing online "manual pages": rely on this book's example-rich, quick-access, 236-page command reference! Don't settle for just any UNIX guidebook. Get one focused on your specific needs as a Mac user!A Practical Guide to UNIX(R) for Mac OS(R) X Users is the most useful, comprehensive UNIX tutorial and reference for Mac OS X and is the only book that delivers *Better, more realistic examples covering tasks you'll actually need to perform *Deeper insight, based on the authors' immense knowledge of every UNIX and OS X nook and cranny *Practical guidance for experienced UNIX users moving to Mac OS X *Exclusive discussions of Mac-only utilities, including plutil, ditto, nidump, otool, launchctl, diskutil, GetFileInfo, and SetFile *Techniques for implementing secure communications with ssh and scp--plus dozens of tips for making your OS X system more secure *Expert guidance on basic and advanced shell programming with bash and tcsh *Tips and tricks for using the shell interactively from the command line *Thorough guides to vi and emacs designed to help you get productive fast, and maximize your editing efficiency *In-depth coverage of the Mac OS X filesystem and access permissions, including extended attributes and Access Control Lists (ACLs) *A comprehensive UNIX glossary *Dozens of exercises to help you practice and gain confidence *And much more, including a superior introduction to UNIX programming tools such as awk, sed, otool, make, gcc, gdb, and CVS

Very useful for someone who wants to learn to use Unix on the Mac and has prior knowledge of command line languages.

I got this book as someone who had used UNIX before, but this was many years ago, and I had forgotten a lot. This book is great for picking up the functionalities of various UNIX tools - the explanations are clear and concise. It also works very well as a quick reference. The bulk of the book is devoted to bringing you up from a potentially zero-experience user to someone who can work with ease with editors, shells, and more. Simple examples are included throughout. The back of the book has a 250-page command reference section for quickly looking up how to use a particular command. You could read the whole book and progressively work with UNIX as a self-taught course, or just reference the sections you need.

I have several of Mark Sobell's Unix based books and this one is as good as the others which are all excellent. You don't nessecarily need all of them but they are truly tailored to the platform and are a quick way to get to what's important when a new platform presents itself.

If you want to know the underlying MAC, this is for you.

Mark G. Sobell and Peter Seebach's A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO UNIX FOR MAC OX S USERS is a reference the UNIX/Mac user simply must have at hand: nearly a thousand pages of reference material on everything from basic and advanced shell programming to Mac's OS X filesystem and utilities modules make this the best reference on the market for users who seek either a step-by-step tutorial or a basic browser's reference for problem-solving. Exercises to test knowledge boxed highlights of information make it easy to either refer to for at-a-glance troubleshooting or sit down and study for step-by-step methodology.

This is the book I've been looking for. Not just 'OS X for Unix Geeks' or 'OS X in a Nutshell', I wanted more. As much as possible, in one resource. 1000+ pages signaled a big yes.

I have yet to read it all the way through, but so far this is a very good guide for those who want not only to learn the general 'Unix way' of computing, but dive under the surface of OS X and examine its specificities in the command line interface, aka the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal)

No, this isn't a 'hacks' book, and there's no mention of rsync, for example, but you'll find ample documentation of the underside of OS X--there's a lot more to it than just a GUI, folks.

Educational, yes. Hence 'Practical Guide'; you'll learn a good deal, in almost textbook fashion. Recommended to enhance the power and fun of your OS X experience!

Very occasionally a book is written about or for Unix System Administration, or Unix in general. If the author or publishers get the mix right it receives acclaim. Very, very occasionally one of those books achieves legendary status, by finding its way onto 98% of all Unix Sysadmins book shelves. This book is one of those legendary tomes. Just about every Unix Sysadmin I know has a copy of this sitting alongside books like Evi Nemeth's "Unix Sys Admin Handbook". OK so it has a lot of information that isn't new to most sysadmins, but that's not where the beauty of the book lies. The real treasure is found in the countless nuggets of Unix info that have been long since forgotten, or yet to be learned. In my humble opinion, a true Unix Classic! If like me, you earn a living from Unix, then think of this book as a carpenter would his set of chisels. You don't use them for every job, but when needed, can prove invaluable.

The mark of a craftsman is his familiarity with his tools, the speed with which he can use them to solve simple problems, and his cleverness in using them to solve more complicated challenges. The latest edition of Unix Power Tools explores the standard Unix tools in greater depth than ever, and with better coverage of Linux, FreeBSD, and even the Darwin environment of Mac OS X. It's also been improved by the addition of sections on Perl and Python, programming languages that can often solve Unix problems more adeptly than any specific utility. This detail-filled book distinguishes itself from other guides for Unix gurus with its organizational structure (it's a series of articles that can be absorbed sequentially or individually) and carefully designed and executed index. Like its esteemed predecessors, this book is one you will keep handy.

The authors have achieved a nearly ideal balance in the pages of this book. It's not just a collection of recipes (such collections tend to leave you hanging if you want to do something a little differently), it's not just a book of documentation (books like that have application mainly as references for people who know a lot already), and it's not just a conceptual how-to guide. Unix Power Tools is all of those things, and the overall effect is impressive indeed. If you work with any flavor of Unix, whatever your level of experience, you will benefit by having this book. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to work efficiently, elegantly, and creatively with the Unix tool suite, as well as (to a lesser extent) with Perl and Python scripts. Tips and strategies on customization, document generation, process management, and networking abound in this wisdom-rich volume.

I've worked in IT for 20+ years, and this is one of the best books I've found. What an index! And even the text of the book has reference "pointers" (for lack of a better term) sprinkled throughout it. Even if you don't initially find what you are looking for, you can usually read a couple of paragraphs and find a link to what you need. This book is a "keeper!"

Back in 1995 I started working at a client and all the UNIX guys had this book on their desk. I was a newbie at that time and the book helped me out a lot. It was clear and to the point. There is so much useful information. Recently I got my own copy because I had to jump back into the UNIX world and having this book around make me feel like I can handle any task that may be required. This is a must have if you want to dabble or become a pro in UNIX.

Here is a quote taken from _Unix_Power_Tools_ which demonstrates the
attitude, shared by the authors, that unix allows you to make things
easier. "''Ugh!', you say, 'that's just what I hate about UNIX. All
these long filenames and options I can't remember. Who wants to type
all that stuff!' Precisely. That's why UNIX makes it so easy to
create custom commands, in the form of aliases and shell scripts."

Unix Power Tools is true to the spirit and philosophy of unix in
focusing on the command line environment with its rich abundance of
command interpreters, shell languages, system utilities, commands, and
the like. This is the realm of real power.

The book is aimed squarely at the user who wants to learn what's under
the hood of the unix (and Linux) system. It's not about how to change
your wallpaper or install the latest media player, or configure your
desktop, although this new edition may touch on these topics, too.
It's really about using unix to greatest advantage, about tapping its
real power, the power of its simplicity, of its flexibility, of
tapping into I/O streams, and using the tool-box approach to solving
real problems. It's about using 'pipes', 'redirection', and
'filters', to automate the big jobs.

My copy of this book is tattered from all the use it's had over the
last ten years. I'm always hunting it down, as my associates at work
are constantly borrowing it to help them solve a problem. That's
okay, though. I am ordering another copy, just for me. I'm curious
to see this new edition, which I understand has broader coverage of
the various unix flavors, including Linux, which I run
at home.

I would recommend this book to those who find unix intimidating, as
well as to the unix enthusiast. For anyone who ever wondered what the
fuss over unix was about, this book will certainly bring on an
epiphany. For between these covers is the greatest accumulation of
unix wisdom and know-how to be found in any book. The shear volume is
enough to elicit awe. But that's only part of its value, because such
an enormous accumulation of material might normally overwhelm the
reader, leaving him frustrated and unenlightened. Happily, this book
is so well organized, and the material so pleasingly presented, that
anyone will find it a pleasure to browse through and to mine
repeatedly for those precious tips, tricks, and methods that make
using unix so rewarding.

This is admittedly a pound heavy volume, and might be expected to
contain a lot of chaff with the grain. I have not found it so. The
authors have chosen the material well, and know their subject so
intimately and thoroughly, that I am left with a feeling of profound
respect. This is, in short, a book that is worthy of its subject; a
truly great book for a great OS.

I read another reviewer who avers this is the one book he would take
with him to a deserted island. I concur. It has taught me more than
any other unix book, and has made my work more efficient, and most
importantly, more interesting. I paid full retail for my copy of
Power Tools, and at the time, I thought it was a lot, but it has
repaid me many times over. It's the most indispensable unix book on
my shelf; a real gem.

I found this book very much useful as I am not a regular unix programmer. This book is good for knowing all unix commands and shell scripting.

I know this seems abit pricey but its worth it. I dont have the attention span needed to read most books cover-to-cover. Even though this book is huge I have browsed it all and read most of it. Multiple times! Each time I find some new tidbit to use.

So much of what is commonplace today was once considered impossible, or at least wishful thinking. Laser beams in the operating room, cars with built-in guidance systems, cell phones with email access. There's just no getting around the fact that technology always has, and always will be, very cool. But technology isn't only cool; it's also very smart. That's why one of the hottest technological trends nowadays is the creation of smart homes. At an increasing rate, people are turning their homes into state-of-the-art machines, complete with more switches, sensors, and actuators than you can shake a stick at. Whether you want to equip your home with motion detectors for added security, install computer-controlled lights for optimum convenience, or even mount an in-home web cam or two purely for entertainment, the world is now your oyster. Ah, but like anything highly technical, creating a smart home is typically easier said than done. Thankfully, Smart Home Hacks takes the guesswork out of the process. Through a seemingly unending array of valuable tips, tools, and techniques, Smart Home Hacks explains in clear detail how to use Mac, Windows, or Linux to achieve the automated home of your dreams. In no time, you'll learn how to turn a loose collection of sensors and switches into a well-automated and well-functioning home no matter what your technical level may be. Smart Home Hacks covers a litany of stand-alone and integrated smart home solutions designed to enhance safety, comfort, and convenience in new and existing homes. Kitchens, bedrooms, home offices, living rooms, and even bathrooms are all candidates for smart automation and therefore are all addressed in Smart Home Hacks. Intelligently written by engineering guru and George Jetson wannabe, Gordon Meyer, Smart Home Hacks leaves no stone unturned. From what to purchase to how to use your remote control, it's the ultimate guide to understanding and implementing complete or partial home automation.

I'm a SW developer and I just got this book because I was curious about Home Automation, I had no idea about it and this book really cleared my mind easy reading and amazingly easy to implement If you're a beginner I totally recommend it!

I am very into the X-10 gadgets and have been for several years. This book was intended for the average homeowner interested in inexpensive home security. The only thing it lacks is diagrams and layouts for the systems it covered.

This book presents a great variety of ideas for using the X10 protocol. I'm sure every reader will find several ideas or projects interesting enough to try.

Although I've been using X10 products for over five years, I have found this book to be a very useful reference. What I like about it is that it starts off with the very basics and move through to the esoteric ... something for everyone.

I recommend this book to the beginner or to the experienced. I'm glad I bought it: I refer to it all the time.

"Smart Home Hacks" provides a basic introduction to X10-based home automation, a technology that's been around since the 1970s. For the most part, the book just scratches the surface of the subject and often goes off on unrelated tangents, such as an example of how to build a robot lawnmower. What's missing is a more comprehensive overview of X10-compatible modules and the different ways they might be used to solve home automation problems. For example, irrigation is a very practical application that's ideal for a computer, and there are X10-based models, such as the Rain8 made by WGL designs. But the author chooses to ignore irrigation because of a perceived flooding hazard, even though the Rain8 has an internal limiter that shuts off the water even if no X10 "off" signal is received. Many pages are devoted to computer automation systems sending text-base messages, but no mention is made of voice-based solutions which are much more practical and cost-effective. The newer software applications that are available are impressive but it's amazing how primitive the available hardware is. The book fails to mention one of the biggest obstacles to X10 deployment: the need for a "neutral" (white) wire in household wiring. Since most light switches are wired with a simple 2-wire loop-back for economic reasons, it would require expensive re-wiring to use X10 switches. And, unless I missed it, it fails to discuss the problem of X10 signals not being passed to the "other side" of typical 2-phase house wiring. Only a passing mention is made to the new INSTEON technology that improves upon the old X10 protocol. So, although the book appears to be "current" it reads like it was written five years ago. "Smart Home Hacks" works best as sort of an idea cookbook. You'll find yourself bouncing around from one "recipe" to another but often finding most cool ideas can't be cooked up because of various obstacles (cost, permits, electronic expertise, obscure hardware, and so on).

SMART HOME HACKS: Tips & Tools for Automating Your House
Gordon Meyer
O'Reilly Media Inc.
ISBN: 0-596-00722-1

For years we have heard of how computers can provide benefits around the house. Television news programs show research labs using computers in conjunction with special equipment for recording or controlling test. I have often wondered, "How is this accomplished?"

Smart Home Hacks introduces you to previously hidden benefits our computers can provide. With software available for Macintosh and other operating systems we learn to control many items in and around our home from our computer's CPU.

How is this done... using the existing 120 VAC wiring in our walls to transmit and receive signals via X10 transmitter and receivers around your house. Whether controlling 12 volt landscaping lights, the timing cycles for your pool pump, or simply turning lights and sound on and off for security reasons, from the ground up Gordon Meyer's Smart Home Hacks explains the process.

Your computer can send messages to your cell phone, pager, or e-mail account. Driveway lights can be set to come on and remain on for a given period of time, and sprinkler systems can be controlled by your home computer. Meyer takes readers from the basics of X10 codes to starting your hot tub and having it ready when you get home.

For those wanting a computer to work for them this book even shows you how to monitor and plot heating oil fuel consumption. With broadband Internet service you can monitor Fido's actions when you are away from the house by adding video camera(s) and a link to the Internet.

To add cost effectiveness to a home, SMART HOME HACKS: Tips & Tools for Automating Your House is a great addition to a home library. Additionally, it should be considered as an ideal gift.

Ubuntu is a complete, free operating system that emphasizes community, support, and ease of use while refusing to compromise on speed, power, and flexibility. It's Linux for human beings--designed for everyone from computer novices to experts. Ubuntu is the most in-demand Linux distribution, and this official guide will get you up and running quickly.

Learn how to seamlessly install and customize Ubuntu for your home or small businesses. Its open source power can be used in schools, government, or by corporations, and is suitable for both desktop and server use. The Ubuntu community is built on the premise that software should be available free of charge, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit.

Written by leading Ubuntu community members, this is the only book that you need to become a savvy Ubuntu user.

• Covers the latest version of Ubuntu--Ubuntu 6.06LTS
• Covers every standard desktop application from word processing, spreadsheets, Web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, music, video, and, of course, games, all the way to software development, databases, and other server applications
• Includes real-world troubleshooting advice contributed by Ubuntu users from around the world
• Learn about the extended Ubuntu community, which includes translators; software developers; teachers; people who love to hand out CDs and help friends try free software; artists; people who write documentation, tips, and guides; accountants; and even a lawyer or two.
• Covers both Ubuntu and Kubuntu desktop systems
• Explains Ubuntu Server installation and basic administration, complete with advanced installer features like LVM and RAID

This book comes with a version of Ubuntu that can run right off the DVD, as well as the complete set of supported packages for Ubuntu, including Kubuntu. Try out Ubuntu on the DVD. If you want to keep it, install it directly from your desktop.

Community Contributors: James Stanger, Jorge O. Castro, Matthew East, Quim Gil, Dennis Kaarsemaker, David Bain, Alan Barnard, David Clayton, Manu Cornet, Scott Dier, Oskar J��nefors, Jason LaPrade, Avinash Meetoo, Julien Rottenberg, Stephen Sandlin, David Symons, Paul van Genderen, Andrew Zajac

Advanced programming libraries strong in Linux will find this in-depth coverage written by Ubuntu experts offers programmers clear support and information, with the 3rd updated edition providing tips on customization, upgrades, and installation and administration. From what to do when Ubuntu won't start to command options, useful features and more, this is an item of choice for any serious Ubuntu collection or software designer's library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book does not have a list of all commands showing their operation and syntax. This would seem to be appropriate for a book intended to be a primer.

I have to give credit to the authors who put together a comprehensive book about Ubuntu. This book is just perfect for new users!

I decided to delve into building a server and purchased this book believing I would find much more information than I did. The book touches lightly on server setup and administration. So I was a little disappointed. There is a plethora of information about this topic on the Ubuntu Forums. I just wanted something that would have this information all in one place.

I gave this book to a friend who is new to Linux and hopefully he'll get the bug like I did several years ago.

This book is a good value because it is thorough and contains the OS on disk. Yes, of course the OS is free, but if you are someone who is not a linux user, you hardly want "compiling the linux kernel" to be your first experience.

To be perfectly honest, I haven't found myself enthralled with ubuntu, and find I am using that XP option on the dual boot most of the time, but this book was still a very good purchase. For $25 bucks both an extensive reference manual and the actual OS is a good idea for someone considering ubuntu.

Well if you are wanting to know the entire history line of ubuntu rather than working the OS then this book is for you. I know that if I had known that over half the book was the history of Ubuntu I wouldn't have thought of buying it. Think this book will help you figure out a difficult hardware problem like wireless think again, rather it will tell you to buy a card that is compatible which is downright saddening. Ubuntu Forums has 20 times the info one would need to fix problems. If though you are a first time Ubuntu user or want to try it out buy it up. It comes with a Live/Install disk so you can test drive the OS.