Linux in a Nutshell - Softcover

Hekman, Jessica P

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565921674 ISBN 13: 9781565921672

Publisher: O′Reilly, 1997

Synopsis

Linux in a Nutshell covers the core commands available on common Linux distributions. This isn't a scaled-down quick reference of common commands, but a complete reference containing all user, programming, administration, and networking commands.Contents include:

• Commands with complete lists of options
• Shell syntax for the bash, csh, and tcsh shells
• Pattern matching
• emacs, vi, and ex editing commands
• sed and gawk commands
• Software development commands

This book also documents a wide range of GNU tools for UNIX users who have GNU versions of standard UNIX tools. You'll find all the essential commands you need to run your system, as well as all the commands that historically have been included on UNIX systems. Specialized packages included in most distributions of Linux are not covered.Linux in a Nutshell is a must for any Linux user; it weighs less than a stack of manual pages, but gives you everything you need for common, day-to-day use.

About this title

Review

Linux has command line utilities, boy does it have them. Linux In A Nutshell lists around 200 basic utilities beginners should find immediately useful in the first few pages. This is a little odd as it really isn't a book aimed at beginners. Rather, it is for the competent or even expert Linux user. The sad truth is no one has a brain large enough to keep all these commands and utilities instantly available, hence the need for quick references.

Around half the book is devoted to command line utilities: what they do, how to invoke them and the various options they take. Naturally, it is the options causing problems. While -c says to send stuff to the standard output in some utilities, in others it doesn't. For example it tells mke2fs to scan a device for bad blocks. It also covers boot issues, various shells, emacs, vi, sed, gawk and pattern matching. CVS and RCS for version control get good coverage. Gnome and KDE get a short chapter each and oddly, so does fvwm2. Some of these choices seem arbitrary. For Perl you are referred elsewhere, PHP isn't mentioned and neither is python.

In practice, the Linux man pages usually provide more information. Many of the book entries provide no more information than you would get from the usage instructions provided by the -h (or --help) option or by entering a nonsense option. The other complaint is inconsistency. Some of the commands have a usage example but most don't.

The problem with Linux In A Nutshell is that if you are actually at your desk using Linux, it is quicker to reference the system itself for the information but the book is rather too large to carry around to reference when you might need it (though why do you need it if you aren't using Linux at the time? Pub quizzes perhaps?).

Given that Linux commands comes with usage instructions, man pages and info pages as well as often having extra documentation, how-tos and source code--all for the versions you're using--it is hard to see quite what purpose its authors intended this book to serve. --Steve Patient

Review

"Linux in a Nutshell is another great reference book from O’Reilly...." -- Will Bober, Bay Linux User Group, July 2002

A great reference to have for anyone who uses Linux, just like a dictionary is a must for anyone who uses a language. -- Rei Ayanami, linuxchix.org, April 2002

I find the book of great value and recommend it highly as a reference and to flesh out the details of lessons learned in introductory Linux texts. -- Pim Borman, SW Indiana PC Users Group, May 2002

It provides a quick, and within hands reach, guide to Linux commands and concepts that users of Linux utilize on a daily basis. -- Will Bober, Bay Linux User Group, July 2002

Linux in a Nutshell is one of my favorite books. I’ve
had a copy of it on my desk since the first edition was
released in 1997 -- Jon Holman, Unix Review, Dec 2001

About this edition

• Publisher: O′Reilly
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1565921674
• ISBN 13: 9781565921672
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 438