UNIX User's Handbook, Second Edition, 2nd edition
Authors: Marty Poniatowski, Martin Poniatowski
Venue:  (2001)

From the Book:Since its inception, UNIX has been viewed as requiring a certain amount of "magic" to understand. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like all operating systems most UNIX commands are simple and easy to use. There are also powerful UNIX commands, to which every user has access, that you will find indispensable once you master them. That proficiency is, in fact, what I wish to accomplish in this book. Cover all UNIX commands and tools that a new UNIX user needs to know in order to become quickly proficient with UNIX, going from the beginner level of UNIX proficiency to the intermediate level. I could never tell you everything you need to know about UNIX in just one book. I do, however, cover every essential command and tool to get you started quickly with UNIX. If you take a few seconds to look at the upcoming table of contents, I think that you'll see that I've included every essential UNIX topic to help you gain an understanding of UNIX. You may very well find that you'll need additional resources as your UNIX knowledge grows. All top UNIX suppliers offer training courses in a variety of forms. In addition, the manuals of the top UNIX suppliers are extensive and cover many topics in great depth. And, of course, there are many reference books available as well. This book should be your first reference for learning UNIX but by no means your only reference. You won't find any fluff in this book. Most of the UNIX topics covered in this book are essential information for every UNIX user. This book is full of background and examples. The book is heavy on examples because I believe that the easiest way to learn anycomputer-science-related topic is through examples. UNIX User's Handbook is comprised of the following chapters: UNIX Section Chapter 1: Getting Started Chapter 2: UNIX File System Introduction Chapter 3: Working with Files and Directories - Permissions, Commands, File Name Expansion, and Wild Cards Chapter 4: Common Desktop Environment (CDE) Chapter 5: Introduction to the Bash Shell Chapter 6: Introduction to the KornShell Chapter 7: Introduction to the C Shell Chapter 8: The vi Editor Chapter 9: Networking Chapter 10: UNIX Tools - grep, awk, sed, and Others Chapter 11: Introduction to Shell Programming Chapter 12: Introduction to System Administration Chapter 13: Introduction to Performance Analysis Chapter 14: Introduction to Software DevelopmentUNIX and Windows Interoperability Section Chapter 15: The X Window System Chapter 16: Network File System Chapter 17: Advanced Server for UNIX Chapter 18: POSIX Commands Chapter 19: Services for UNIX (SFU) Chapter 20: SambaCovered in these chapters is everything you need to get started and work through advanced topics in UNIX system administration.A Word about the UNIX Variants Used throughout This BookI do not advocate the use of one UNIX variant over another. Don't think, for instance, that because there are many Linux examples in this book I am advocating the use of Linux over other UNIX variants. Linux and a handful of other UNIX variants are used throughout the examples in this book because they are among the most popular UNIX variants and I had easy access to such systems. In fact, there are two different Linux implementations used in the book - Red Hat and Caldera. Not only am I not advocating one UNIX variant over another, but I am also not advocating any Linux implementation over another. I have no intention of swaying you one way or another when it comes to which UNIX variant to use. My only objective is to help you get started with whatever UNIX variant you are using as quickly as possible.I use a wide variety of UNIX variants in the examples throughout the book. I don't get hungup highlighting the differences in UNIX variants. Rather, I focus on the common denominator of UNIX functionality that you can use. Most UNIX variants are very similar indeed, so what you'll find is that the vast majority of commands used throughout this book are very similar, going from one UNIX variant to another. Only occasionally throughout the book do I provide an example using many different UNIX variants. Most examples use only one operating system. The use's of many commands, however, are sufficiently different such that the outputs, options, locations of commands, or some other feature would be different among UNIX variants. This statement is especially true of system administration-related commands, which is the area where UNIX variants differ the most. The concepts are the same but the location of files, their options, and the format may differ. As long as you know this fact going from one UNIX variant to another, you'll be ready to change your thinking just enough to get you through the possible variations in commands. I don't cover any UNIX background or try to position UNIX variants. UNIX has now become mainstream and to try to position one UNIX variant relative to another and to try keeping up with the many advanced UNIX features being introduced on a regular basis would be futile. Manual Pages Included in This BookI am most grateful to Hewlett Packard Company for having allowed me to include select HP-UX manual pages in this book. Although specific options for a given command often differ among the UNIX variants, to have a manual page to turn to when reviewing a command is useful. I included the manual pages for select commands where I thought they would be especially helpful. My special thanks to Ram Appalaraju, Michael Nixon, John Verrochi, and Susan Wright of Hewlett Packard for having taken a lead role in helping me receive permission for using the manual pages. Although the manual pages are for HP-UX, you may find that having a manual page in the same chapter where a command is covered is a great reference. Most UNIX commands are similar going from variant to another in that they provide the same output information or use the same options so the HP-UX manual pages provide a good starting point for researching a given command. The Table of Contents contains a complete list of the man pages appearing at the end of each chapter. The man pages for a command appear in the chapter to which the command is most applicable, even if it is not the first chapter in which the command is used. Commands pertaining to performance, for instance, have their man pages in the performance chapter, even if those commands were used in an earlier chapter.