Learning the UNIX Operating System, Fifth Edition Reviews

• The PERFECT book for the beginner!

  
  By on 1999-06-02
  I am an MCSE who is looking to expand my skills as an Administrator. I recognize that being Agnostic in which OS best suites a given situation is a must. So, I decided to take on the task of learning Unix - something that takes a looong time....unless you know where to start!

  No matter what flavor of Unix (any System V or any *BSD version) this book will get you started in a jiffy. I sat down on an SGI running Irix 6.2 and started reading this book and perofrming the exercises. One of the most important things about this book over any other is that when you actually do these exercises you will learn more than you expected! Best of all it makes a good, quick reference to flip open when you forget something silly and need the answer quick. I GURANTEE this book will help anyone who is a Microsoft junkie that wants to start learning *ANY* version of Unix.

  Although it's only 92 pages, you will understand mail, file and directory permissions, passwd, file management, printing files, pipes and filters, and multi-tasking. That's a lot of sh*t for such a small book.
  
  

• Now all that text means something...

  
  By A2WETFLJM0D6R0 on 2002-10-22
  I remember my first look at a UNIX terminal. A little '%' with a flashing cursor. I don't remember how long I stared at the little prompt not knowing what to do. Then I pressed some keys and things became much worse.

  Now I'm surfing around dizzying hierarchies of file structures, able to get to the root and back again and make and edit text files. I bite my thumb at weird commands that used to seem as comprehensible as medieval scholasticism.

  I wouldn't have been able to accomplish any of that without this little book that's as intimidating as a ladybug.

  The most difficult part of the book, in fact, is actually finding a UNIX environment to log into. If you're not at a University or a fairly good-sized corporation (and if you don't know UNIX they won't let you near a command line anyway) you may wonder where to go. Linux, in most cases, is a good substitute; or check the web for free UNIX (or Linux) shell accounts. Combine your new-found account with this book and UNIX will no longer be a gut-wrenching incomprehensible monolith.

  Don't consider yourself an expert, however, and don't stop there. UNIX may not be as difficult as some like to think it is, but it's also not easily mastered. Take this book, digest it, then move on to bigger tomes (there is no shortage of tomes in the land of UNIX, as you will find).

  Lastly, the owl on the cover rules.
  
  

• Big disappointment

  
  By ABLPYS34N4UXT on 1999-10-27
  I'm a big fan of O'Reilly, but this book doesn't cut it. If you're completely new to computers and new to UNIX, this book is probably a good one, but if you are remotely familiar with another O/S, skip this book. It is way too basic and only covers a handful of commands. "UNIX for dummies" is less condescending and covers more. For instance, the printing section says what to do if "my printout hasn't come out". It says "other users may have made a request to the printer ahead of you and your file should be printed in turn." Then "...check the printers connections and power switch" Duh. O'Reilly usually writes books for smart people, this is an exception.
  
  

• Virtually Perfect -- at least for me....

  
  By A8BOWONDRJA21 on 1999-12-29
  I needed a book that would tell me very quickly what I needed to know to make use of a UNIX shell, and more importantly, to have some idea what I was looking at when I saw UNIX-related commands on a screen. I have worked with many operating systems over the years, but somehow had missed UNIX.

  This book did 100%++ of what I wanted it to do. The great thing about it is that I believe it would do the same thing for someone without a lot of systems background. A technical book of any kind that can talk clearly to both kinds of readers is a very rare thing!

  Highly recommended!
  
  

• It's called LEARNING UNIX for a reason!!

  
  By A1390YBFO1OOC on 1998-11-25
  For all the people who whined and pined about how this book didn't talk about anything: 1) Pick the book up. 2) Look at it's width. 3) Note that a 3/4cm book will not answer all your questinos about a 30-yearold, complex, multiuser, multitasking operating system! Honestly, what did you expect in 100 pages!? For everyone else who is new/practically new to the Unix OS, get this book. $10 will not break you. It then refers other books to you. I also recomend Unix in a Nutshell (and all the other books by O'Reilly, they're amazing) for some more indepth information on the Unix OS. Then it will talk about smaller parts of the OS and then you can get another O'Reilly book about that! I'm actually excited. So in short, one book will not tell you everything you need to know about anything!
  
  
• Only a starting step for learning the UNIX operating system.
  By on 1997-09-08
  This book is only a tiny part of your very first step to learning the UNIX system for the first time. Although it covers some very important basics of UNIX, it sure is not even close to being a source enough for a complete start to UNIX. This book is not intended for that, therefore if you are someone who would like to have a detailed start to UNIX, buy another book. It starts with some general information about UNIX and proceeds to teach how to log in and out, but covers only the most basic commands. There is too much general information which is more suitable for people who are not familiar with operating systems at all. It doesn't cover any commands for the editors in UNIX, which means you will have to purchase another book. It has around 7 chapters, which could be covered in 2 if you take out all the unnecessary text. It certainly is not suitable for a programmer wishing to get into UNIX fast and complete.
  
  
• Great First Step
  By A2OE9CFJ3PBWGY on 2000-10-08
  If you are a DOS/Windows user and are curious about Unix you won't find a better book than this to get your feet on solid ground. The book is well written, laid out and full of tips any user will appreciate.You will be pleased to find that Unix doesn't force you to choose between Unix and Windows, as any PC can be home to both operating systems at the same time. Unix also has a number of graphical environments available to the user,with XWindow being the most popular. The book doesn't cover windows in great detail, but does show the reader how to fire one up from the command line and create additional windows. Unix windows are in most ways stand alone objects that can have a separate program running inside of each window.On a quick check of the net, I found Unix and hundreds of programs that will run on Unix. The range of the programs available varied from text editors, games, C++ compilers, database programs, Java, web servers, you name it! Most of the programs are free, but distributed on CDROM at a modest charge. If you wonder why you might want to learn Unix, I would say it's because you will enjoy an operating system purposely designed to fully support multi-user, multitasking, and multithreaded operation right out of the box. Another benefit of Unix is a concept called a name pipe that permits passing the output of one program to the input of another program. You will really be surprised at how powerful a script the end user can create with a pipe. For example you can type input from the keyboard to a file, search the file for a string, then E-mail the result of your search to someone else with only one line of code! This book is of course, only an introduction to this rich, complex computing environment that will no doubt take years to learn, but it's a great first step!
  
  
• Great way to start!!
  By AZ95O3J4KWVN on 2001-01-19
  I came into this with DOS, OS/2 and Windows experience (but no UNIX/Linux). This book and it's simple exercises will get you familiar with the most common essential commands in UNIX. It's best to read cover to cover and do the exercises while you go.

  This is not a book for UNIX experts. This book is for people that have little or no experience on LINUX/UNIX. It is concise and doesn't waste your time while still teaching you the basics. People looking for more advanced reading should move on to Essential System Administration and UNIX Power tools (also Orielly books.)

  Learning UNIX will definately get the new UNIX user off on the right foot and get you working with the interface.
  
  

• Basic intro to the use of unix/linux
  By A1M82WD46PMBYD on 2001-03-09
  This book was written for the newbie who is using a unix terminal. He don't teach you the installation or config of unix, only gives you an overview of the fundamental commands and tasks (logging, windowing, managing files & directories, background processing and a little more). So if you are using a unix/linux preconfigured system and know nothing about unix, then buy this book or look the net (for there are very much like this and you don't need to pay), if not, forget!!!
  
  
• Ideal for total Unix newbies
  By A987W7WUQE2RP on 2002-03-23
  People who have never used Unix will find it very intimidating, but this book will definitely change that. This book doesn't try to throw a lot of information at you, but rather, it gives you a nice, easy-going introduction to using Unix.

  Some of the books strengths are its using of examples and illustrations. Using screens shots to show what the user will (or should) see helps the Unix shy better understand should happen when they do something. This book really does a good job in going step by step in order to accomplish. New users definitely won't feel like they will get lost.

  The other strength is how the book covers errors that users might encounter, and how to deal with them. Afterall, new users will make mistakes, and it helps to have a book that will tell users why they got that error.

  If you have a fair amount of experience in Unix, you should definitely read other books. If you are really new to Unix, then definitely read this book. You will definitely feel more confident when you are done. Even those who have learned Unix before just might learn sometihng new (I did). :)
  
  

• Handy Start Book
  By AEBOGZD797NMW on 2000-03-01
  As a PC (DOS/Windows) person my whole life, I was looking for a "newbie" explanation of UNIX for a web class I was about to take. This did the job perfectly, and is small enough to carry in my briefcase for fast reference. It could have gone a bit deeper with only a few more pages, but for what I wanted, it was (and is) great.
  
  
• Every UNIX Admin Group Should Have One� To loan to users
  By A2C8SOLT0LN9C3 on 2003-12-13
  Every UNIX Admin Group Should Have One... To loan to users

  You are perceived to be a UNIX guru. People regularly come to you with great deference to ask you for advice and help. Someone apologizes for his/her lack of knowledge for the third or fourth time and asks about a basic command. You grab a thin book from the shelf. "Take a look at this book", you say, "You probably know most of what's in here, but maybe some of it will help you. Just give it back when you're done." With relief he/she clutches the book and thanks you several times. He/she almost bumps into your neighbor's cubicle wall as he/she walks away reading this book...

  Buy this thin book and this may happen to you. Well, the first part you'll have to manage yourself, but no self-styled UNIX novice has been ungrateful to borrow this book. Anyone seen as a guru will find that this book will pay for itself as a time-saving loaner.

  I must say, that perception plays a great deal in this case. The book is amazingly thin and sports an O'Reilly animal on the cover. Anyone in corporate IT will associate this book with the O'Reilly books the in-house experts have on their shelves. I have another book that I feel may be a bit better for UNIX beginners, but given a choice, people will grab this one.

  One can't help but notice sections that are probably unnecessary for computer-savvy UNIX beginners, such as "working with a mouse" and the description of a directory structure. But these sections are brief and clear and the authors move on quickly to UNIX-specific items such as "Redirecting I/O".

  I definitely prefer "UNIX: Visual QuickStart Guide" from Peachpit Press, so I'm compelled to give this book less than a perfect score. I must admit that people who borrow this book seem much more enthusiastic when they borrow it than when they return it. But they also seem ready to move on to heavier books, and that's well worth the price.
  
  

• A Good Introduction to UNIX
  By A1BEKSAXVJ56EL on 2004-11-09
  This is a well written book that provides an easy and fast start to using the UNIX X Windows & terminal shells, printing, using the Internet for web browsing, email and file transfers. The use of examples, screenshots and illustrations together with a step by step list of commands to do throughout the book prove to be a very valuable feature for the UNIX beginners so they could better understand what should happen and appear when they click or type something. It also covers problems and errors a user might encounter and gives some useful information why they got that error and how to deal with them.
  
  This book is not too comprehensive, you will be able to start with using UNIX quickly and easily but on the other hand, the descriptions for most of that commands are too brief to be able to do advance things, thus you still need to consult the documentations and man pages of the command you will encounter.
  
  This is a good first book for UNIX beginners. New UNIX Users should go deeper by reading other inroductory books like Sams Teach Yourself UNIX in 24 Hours or The Complete Idiot's Guide to Unix. Experienced UNIX users would find this book too basic and should read a more advance book for systems administrators like the Essential System Administration and UNIX System Administration Handbook.
  
  
• an excellent handy reference for LEARNERS
  By A13T70B27VMBGD on 2005-06-14
  I made a mistake buying this book. It may not be apparent from the cover graphics that the name of this book is 'Learning the (in smaller print) UNIX Operating System' and not just 'Unix operating System' - which I was looking for.
  
  When the book arrived I was disappointed by the small size of the book, nobody told me the book is so thin, and then taking a closer look at the title made it clear. I browsed thru it anyway and I almost bit my nails thinking why did somebody not write this book while I had my first encounter with Unix! This book would have made it so much easier.
  
  This book is not for me, I was looking for more advanced system admin concepts, but after all these I had to give this book a good rating! The book is very well written, very organized and almost completely free of flab (except for why Unix is better for sight and hearing impaired users! Who needs to know that anyway?)
  
  Final word - if you just got an Unix account or are about to get one, get this book, it's worth the money. Please note that it's better to be used as a practical guide and reference rather than as a book that covers the theory behind Unix.
  
  
• Just to start Unixing
  By A2I6TPDOAFIKA4 on 2000-02-28
  It is a good book for newbie. Don't expect too much from 90 page book. It is an introduction to Unix world only.
  
  
• "An Excellent Textbook"
  By on 1999-07-21
  I teach basic UNIX for my company and this small book is the text that I use for my students. UNIX for the most part is overwhelming to the beginner and the style of this book (and most all Nutshell books for that matter) are excellent in their presentation and practicality.
  
  
• Very basic
  By on 1999-08-17
  This book is for the true beginner to Unix. If you've played around with Unix even a little and know cd, ls, cp, mv and rm, then this book is probably too basic for you. Yes, this book contains more than those 5 commands, but you'll probably be ready for a bigger and more advanced book than this one. I was unsure where my skill level was, but I now realize that I need more than what this book has to offer. I think it would be a great book for someone really new to Unix.
  
  
• Daunted by UNIX? Fear not.
  By A2WLJUGIV6N5VP on 2000-12-01
  The O'Reilly series is definitely top dog in the reference arena, and this book is no exception. As a Web Designer looking to get into IT, I picked this book up and was working from the UNIX command line within 5 minutes. Need I say more? If you're at all interested in this UNIX monster, buy this book. Great stuff to get you started!
  
  
• Explains how to use UNIX from the ground up
  By AIKCCKKD94EGV on 2004-10-13
  This book elucidates the fundamentals of using the UNIX operating system by using examples - and it is not too comprehensive, which means you will be able to stark working with the OS quickly and easily.
  
  On the one hand, this book teaches how to use the UNIX operating system in a brief manner from the ground up. Although if you
  are used to UNIX OS, this book provides some useful tips that
  you may not be aware of.
  
  On the other hand, if you are a truly experienced UNIX OS user, you will most likely find this book too basic and uninteresting.
  It does not cover advanced topics but focuses on the fundamentals from a user's perspective.
  
  Thus, this book is definitely for you if:
  
  1) You have not worked with the UNIX OS before
  2) You have only novice experiences from the OS
  
  The book is NOT for you if you:
  
  1) Have used UNIX for quite a long time
  2) Want to elaborate on more advanced topics
  3) Want low-level explanations of how an OS works
  (e.g., processes, kernels, data structures)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Learning The UNIX Operating System
  By on 2000-03-30
  I'm a consultant currently assigned to a DB2/Mainframe to Oracle/UNIX conversion project. My current teammates have been working with the mainframe for 10+ years and have no knowledge of Unix whatsoever. I was looking for a concise and short introduction to the UNIX "world" that could motivate my teammates to get started on their own. This book was the answer. It gives a painless introduction to the operating system and it focuses entirely on what one needs to know to get started using one's account. But be advised: This little book (very fairly priced) is not as in-depth as some other O'Reilly books in the "Learning" series. There are other excellent books that will take further along if needed.
  
  
• Great if you're new and need to quickly do simple stuff
  By on 1999-10-19
  This book quickly got me up to speed with tasks like how to ftp, find files, change directories. However, if you want to learn more than the simple stuff, get other book. They don't even cover any editors. Strictly recommended for people who are new to Unix and want to do simple stuff without getting bogged down by details.
  
  
• Good introduction
  By A3SGYUZPG6L0M1 on 2004-02-20
  This is a good first book on Unix. A reader of the book can decide which of the subjects covered in the book interests him, and go deeper by reading other books. Be sure to check the errata page at oreilly.com for mistakes in the book.
  
  
• A Nice book for the very High Level Basics
  By on 1999-01-31
  As a user who is very new to Unix and one who will be required to rarely use Unix, I found this book a nice "little" (112 pages) companion.

  The book covers many topics that will help the novice get around, like directory structures and some simple commands.

  The book keeps everything on the high level, which is good for the user who doesn't have to know and doesn't really care to know the details and intricacies of the Operating System.
  
  

• Neet little companion
  By A2OG1XL6DPRU45 on 1999-12-16
  Ok, so this little pamphlet probably gets laughs from administrators who see it on poor user's desks but I have to admit I don't use UNIX 24-7 and I forget commands every now and then. This is a good resourse to have around when you need to dive into the command line and you can't remember what the command was to calculate pi to the nearest whole number. Hats off to O'Reilly again.
  
  
• Good first book on using UNIX.
  By on 1999-09-20
  This is a very basic book, so if you know anything at all about UNIX, you won't learn much here - you will have a quick, basic reference book that you can carry in your briefcase. However if you are new to UNIX, start with this book (even if you've never used a computer). The answer to a lot of questions in this book is "ask your system administrator," so an efficient (or misanthropic) SysAd could post these answers on their door and just recommend this book to new users.
  
  
• Excellent introduction to a complex operating system
  By A6FBHEZA7FIJP on 2001-09-23
  This book is a concise but excellent introduction to UNIX. All the common commands are explained in simple words, with numerous examples. Of course, this is just an introductory book. I would recommend "The UNIX Operating System" by Christian Richter for advanced topics
  
  
• Best quick reference for UNIX in my library.
  By AFCZ3HYGK1DAS on 2002-07-05
  Very easy to understand and reference. Best as a quick reference to understand UNIX. Good for both novice and expert users.
  
  
• very insightful UNIX introduction
  By A3H7R4FCSGAGNM on 2005-08-29
  Well, once I have started with this book and it had been helpful and well guiding book. In is not the "only" book you will need. I have followed someone review's advice and paired this book with a "UNIX Essentials" DVD and they made a very effective couple.
  One way or another those people who pick book of this sort usually had no opportunity to attend some UNIX classes and the DVD alleviates this problem. May be it's just me,but when I pick a book and go through it I'm still no really confident. It does not matter how book is good, I'm never sure is it enough to make a claim that "I know UNIX". And this book along with the DVD had solved this issue to me. Book is easy to read and pleasure to follow. The examples and the explanations are very clear. So I liked this book very much.
  
  
• Just what the beginner needs...
  By on 1999-03-04
  If you are new to UNIX or have dipped your toe in the UNIX pool, this book is the best introduction to read on what you can expect when swimming in this vast ocean. It's for those users that are either new to computers or want to know how to function in UNIX, like they do in their current OS. Buy it and start swimming.
  
  
• Great Starter Book
  By A36NYYTUG0ASR5 on 1998-05-30
  This book is ideal if you have never started or dealt with Unix before. I encourage you to look into it if you do not aquire it. Sometimes it is more helpful than one thinks.
  
  

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