Unix in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference - Covers GNU/Linux, Mac OS X,and Solaris

by Arnold Robbins

Overview

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, specific examples, and detailed command.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781449391140
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/26/2005
Series:	In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	908
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Arnold Robbins, an Atlanta native, is a professional programmer and technical author. He has worked with Unix systems since 1980, when he was introduced to a PDP-11 running a version of Sixth Edition Unix. He has been a heavy AWK user since 1987, when he became involved with gawk, the GNU project's version of AWK. As a member of the POSIX 1003.2 balloting group, he helped shape the POSIX standard for AWK. He is currently the maintainer of gawk and its documentation. He is also coauthor of the sixth edition of "Learning the vi Editor" from O'Reilly.

Table of Contents

Preface

I. Commands and Shells

1. Introduction
     Unix in the 21st Century
     Obtaining Compilers
     Building Software
     What's in the Quick Reference
     Beginner's Guide
     Solaris: Standard Compliant Programs

2. Unix Commands
     Introduction
     Alphabetical Summary of Common Commands
     Alphabetical Summary of Solaris Commands
     Alphabetical Summary of GNU/Linux Commands
     Alphabetical Summary of Mac OS X Commands
     Alphabetical Summary of Java Commands

3. The Unix Shell: An Overview
     Introduction to the Shell
     Purpose of the Shell
     Shell Flavors
     Shell Source Code URLs
     Common Features
     Differing Features

4. The Bash and Korn Shells
     Overview of Features
     Invoking the Shell
     Syntax
     Functions
     Variables
     Arithmetic Expressions
     Command History
     Job Control
     Command Execution
     Restricted Shells
     Built-in Commands (Bash and Korn Shells)

5. tcsh: An Extended C Shell
     Overview of Features
     Invoking the Shell
     Syntax
     Variables
     Expressions
     Command History
     Command-Line Manipulation
     Job Control
     Built-in Commands

6. Package Management
     Linux Package Management
     The Red Hat Package Manager
     Yum: Yellowdog Updater Modified
     up2date: Red Hat Update Agent
     The Debian Package Manager
     Mac OS X Package Management
     Solaris Package Management

II. Text Editing and Processing

7. Pattern Matching
     Filenames Versus Patterns
     Metacharacters
     Metacharacters, Listed by Unix Program
     Examples of Searching

8. The Emacs Editor
     Conceptual Overview
     Command-Line Syntax
     Summary of Commands by Group
     Summary of Commands by Key
     Summary of Commands by Name

9. The vi, ex, and vim Editors
     Conceptual Overview
     Command-Line Syntax
     Review of vi Operations
     vi Commands
     vi Configuration
     ex Basics
     Alphabetical Summary of ex Commands

10. The sed Editor
     Conceptual Overview
     Command-Line Syntax
     Syntax of sed Commands
     Group Summary of sed Commands
     Alphabetical Summary of sed Commands

11. The awk Programming Language
     Conceptual Overview
     Command-Line Syntax
     Patterns and Procedures
     Built-in Variables
     Operators
     Variable and Array Assignment
     User-Defined Functions
     Gawk-Specific Features
     Implementation Limits
     Group Listing of awk Functions and Commands
     Alphabetical Summary of awk Functions and Commands
     Output Redirections
     Source Code

III. Software Development

12. Source Code Management: An Overview
     Introduction and Terminology
     Usage Models
     Unix Source Code Management Systems
     Other Source Code Management Systems

13. The Revision Control System
     Overview of Commands
     Basic Operation
     General RCS Specifications
     Alphabetical Summary of Commands

14. The Concurrent Versions System
     Conceptual Overview
     Command-Line Syntax and Options
     Dot Files
     Environment Variables
     Keywords and Keyword Modes
     Dates
     CVSROOT Variables
     Alphabetical Summary of Commands

15. The Subversion Version Control System
     Conceptual Overview
     Obtaining Subversion
     Using Subversion: A Quick Tour
     The Subversion Command Line Client: svn
     Repository Administration: svnadmin
     Examining the Repository: svnlook
     Providing Remote Access: svnserve
     Other Subversion Components

16. The GNU make Utility
     Conceptual Overview
     Command-Line Syntax
     Makefile Lines
     Macros
     Special Target Names
     Writing Command Lines

17. The GDB Debugger
     Conceptual Overview
     Command-Line Syntax
     Initialization Files
     GDB Expressions
     The GDB Text User Interface
     Group Listing of GDB Commands
     Summary of set and show Commands
     Summary of the info Command
     Alphabetical Summary of GDB Commands

18. Writing Manual Pages
     Introduction
     Overview of nroff/troff
     Alphabetical Summary of man Macros
     Predefined Strings
     Internal Names
     Sample Document

IV. References

ISO 8859-1 (Latin-1) Character Set

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Ever UNIX user and programmer needs a rock-solid day-to-day reference. For years, thousands of UNIX users have relied on UNIX in a Nutshell. Now this book has been massively updated for today’s new generation of “UNIX-es,” from GNU/Linux to Mac OS X and Solaris 10. The new Fourth Edition is an outstanding single source for all you need to know now about UNIX commands, shells, editing tools, software development utilities, and a whole lot more.

Users will wear out Arnold Robbins’s huge commands section, which has been systematically revised and reorganized. Commands common to most versions of UNIX and Linux are covered first: meat-and-potatoes stuff like autoconf, cat, chmod, cp, find, finger, ftp, make, mount, ssh, tar, and so forth. All version-specific options for each command are listed with their own subheads, for fast and convenient access. Once every significant common command has been reviewed, dozens of commands unique to individual platforms are covered. For instance: cdrecord and strace for Linux; ditto and nano for OS X; encrypt and filesync for Solaris.

Robbins’s extensive coverage of UNIX shells has been reworked to cover bash, the 1993 (and 1988) versions of ksh, and tcsh instead of the original Berkeley csh. There’s an entire new chapter on package management. Robbins has thoroughly revised his coverage of editors, adding key vim commands and updating the GNU Emacs discussion through Version 21. Perhaps the most significant addition: extensive new coverage of source code management, including chapters on CVS and the newer Subversion Version Control System (SVCS). Robbins’s goal: to present “UNIX for the 21st century.” Users and programmers will agree that he’s succeeded. Bill Camarda, from the December 2005 Read Only

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