Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 005.432 EAN: 9780596005955 Format: Illustrated ISBN: 0596005954 Label: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 558 Publication Date: February 01, 2005 Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Sales Rank: 10375 Studio: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Product DescriptionShell scripting skills never go out of style. It's the shell that unlocks the real potential of Unix. Shell scripting is essential for Unix users and system administrators-a way to quickly harness and customize the full power of any Unix system. With shell scripts, you can combine the fundamental Unix text and file processing commands to crunch data and automate repetitive tasks. But beneath this simple promise lies a treacherous ocean of variations in Unix commands and standards. 'Classic Shell Scripting' is written to help you reliably navigate these tricky waters.
Writing shell scripts requires more than just a knowledge of the shell language, it also requires familiarity with the individual Unix programs: why each one is there, how to use them by themselves, and in combination with the other programs. The authors are intimately familiar with the tips and tricks that can be used to create excellent scripts, as well as the traps that can make your best effort a bad shell script. With 'Classic Shell Scripting' you'll avoid hours of wasted effort. You'll learn not only write useful shell scripts, but how to do it properly and portably.
The ability to program and customize the shell quickly, reliably, and portably to get the best out of any individual system is an important skill for anyone operating and maintaining Unix or Linux systems. 'Classic Shell Scripting' gives you everything you need to master these essential skills.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Excellent book to learn the basics
I've scrolled through lots of books, there is so much information out there, but this book has a tendency to keep it simple and to the point. It has good illustrative examples that not only are useful but also serve as a good practice guide.
Rating: - A good intro on Unix shell scripting and the problems it solves
The purpose of this handy little book is to help someone who is working with Unix through the labyrinth of tools available and learn how and when to use them. It is important to note what is mentioned in the preface - "Throughout this book, we use the term Unix to mean not only commercial variants of the original Unix system, such as Solaris, Mac OS X, and HP-UX, but also the freely available workalike systems, such as GNU/Linux and the various BSD systems: BSD/OS, NetBSD, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD." ... Read More
Rating: - Nice overview of Bourne/sh scripting
This book provides a nice overview of the Bourne/sh shell's commands. I wish there were more examples with complete scripts. Korn shell users might want to consider "Korn Shell: Programs for Your Survival at Work" by Larry L. Smith. Bash users might want to consider "Bash Shell: Essential Programs for Your Survival at Work" by Larry L. Smith. Some of the examples in Randal K. Michael's "Mastering UNIX Shell Scripting" are also helpful.
Rating: - Okay
I would say this is a pretty good book that covers it's subject very well, buti didn't use it much because i had also bought Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition, which covered the basics and differences between the shells briefly, which was all i needed at the time. but i looked through this and read some stuff that helped and it is a good book if you plan on doing extended shell scripting. it was just a little more than i actually needed
Rating: - Practical and useful
Great book. The emphasis is nicely split between actually using the shell itself and the whole supporting cast of unix tools (sed, awk, cut, join, sort etc.) The idea of carefully crafting solutions using the unix toolbox mindset is key. I also like the fact he doesn't try to teach to multiple shells, but first tries to emphasize portability by sticking mainly to a POSIX standard, and only later adds info about non standard shell topics. If I could only have one book on shell scripting, this would ... Read More
- Excellent book to learn the basics
- Nice overview of Bourne/sh scripting
