Nate wrote: > I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on a good linux book. > I have linux for non-geeks, but it is lacking in detail. I guess I > should face the fact that I am a geek and find something a little > bit more meaty. Has Oprah suggested anything? It really depends on what you want to learn. I'd recommend some exposure to classic Unix: "Unix as she was". You might find something worthwhile in your local library. And the classic interface to Unix, what you interact with, is the shell. It's not that shells and shell scripts haven't advanced in the past ten years, but that a lot of effort was put in then to understanding what you could do with a shell, so much of the good material dates back some time. Take the time to understand what's available. For example, look at regexps: don't worry about the details, but learn what is possible. Then, when you need them, you'd probably have to look the details up anyway... I like my "Version 1 Unix CD Bookshelf" from O'Reilly, with the "Unix Power Tools" and "Unix in a Nutshell". (You probably only need one "*x in a Nutshell": they're rather similar). The current Bookshelf has less about command line power and more about DNS and Sendmail. That might be better for you, but it's symptomatic of the decline in interest in classic Unix as an operating environment. Some on-line stuff: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/upt3/chapter/ch28.pdf is a chapter from the current Unix Power Tools, and worth reading. I'd recommend Eric Raymond's "The Art of Unix Programming" at http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html/ as a generic introduction to the way Unix does things. http://home.comcast.net/~j.p.h/cus-faq.html : the comp.unix.shells FAQ. http://rhols66.adsl.netsonic.fi/era/unix/shell.html is a version of the original Bourne shell tutorial, and still very good. (If it's not obvious, bash is a GNU program that extends the Bourne shell). It's not that long, and covers most of what you could do with the Bourne shell. Some advanced pages: these are more "soak in the atmosphere" type pages, where you learn what is valued, and what is derided, and why. The Useless Use of Cat Awards: dedicated to stamping out over- complicated shell programming. http://rhols66.adsl.netsonic.fi/era/unix/award.html Csh Programming Considered Harmful. http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/shell/csh-whynot/ Learn the mindset. Everything else is details. Hope this helps, James. -- E-mail address: james@ | Say it with flowers, send a triffid westexe.demon.co.uk |
