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By Carl Albing, JP Vossen, Cameron Newham
First Edition
May 2007
Pages: 622
Series: Cookbooks
ISBN 10: 0-596-52678-4 |
ISBN 13: 9780596526788
(Average of 3 Customer Reviews)
bash Cookbook teaches shell scripting the way Unix masters practice the craft. It presents a variety of recipes and tricks for all levels of shell programmers so that anyone can become a proficient user of the most common Unix shell -- the bash shell -- and cygwin or other popular Unix emulation packages. Packed full of useful scripts, along with examples that explain how to create better scripts, this new Cookbook gives professionals and power users everything they need to automate routine tasks and enable them to truly manage their systems -- rather than have their systems manage them.
Full Description
The key to mastering any Unix system, especially Linux and Mac OS X, is a thorough knowledge of shell scripting. Scripting is a way to harness and customize the power of any Unix system, and it's an essential skill for any Unix users, including system administrators and professional OS X developers. But beneath this simple promise lies a treacherous ocean of variations in Unix commands and standards.
Post-purchase benefits:
bash Cookbook teaches shell scripting the way Unix masters practice the craft. It presents a variety of recipes and tricks for all levels of shell programmers so that anyone can become a proficient user of the most common Unix shell -- the bash shell -- and cygwin or other popular Unix emulation packages. Packed full of useful scripts, along with examples that explain how to create better scripts, this new cookbook gives professionals and power users everything they need to automate routine tasks and enable them to truly manage their systems -- rather than have their systems manage them.
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Book details
First Edition: May 2007
Series:
Cookbooks
ISBN: 0-596-52678-4
Pages: 622
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 3 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
Excellent bash book!, January 25 2008
Rating:
Submitted by
Robert Menes
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I've been spending some time reading through the bash Cookbook, and I can't express disappointment in it at all. Quite the opposite, in fact: the bash Cookbook is one of the best bash books I've come across in a long time!
Many of the recipes in the book cover all sorts of useful tasks; be it basic maintenance operations, or sorting photos and music with some quick shell scripts, there's a little something in this book for everyone! As a plus, this book has helped me improve my bash skills, enabling me to now use my beloved bash shell more efficiently!
I highly recommend this title, but for the full experience, don't forget to pick up Learning the bash Shell to go along with this book. This book should go on any serious bash user's bookshelf!
bash Cookbook Review, September 25 2007
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Submitted by
mas7967
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ISBN-10: 0-596-52678-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-596-52678-8
Information from the publisher
Bash Cookbook is a great book for anyone who is interested in learning more about bash and shell scripting. The book starts off with its first chapters dedicated to beginners and learning what bash is, how the prompt works, and how exactly shell scripting works. As the book progresses further, the examples and topics get to an intermediate level, and finally end with an advanced level. The book is packed with wonderful examples and full explanations of all parts of bash.
I had very little knowledge of bash and any sort of scripting before reading this book. I started at the beginning even though I knew some of the topics that were covered, but I still learned things from the tips, which are scattered throughout the book. This book is a good fit for anyone that has very little experience. It explains every type of variable, how to make them, their uses, and shows examples of them in use. It does the same for loops, logic and arithmetic, and every other topic covered in the book. At the very end of the book there are nearly one hundred pages of appendixes which are a wonderful resource full of tables and sample code.
I feel very comfortable after reading this book to do more advanced tasks with bash and shell scripting. I strongly suggest this book to anyone who is interested in leaping into a UNIX shell for the first time. The book is very up to date as it was published in May of 2007, and I plan to use it as a reference for every bash questions I could have.
Bashscripts.org - Review of "bash Cookbook", June 26 2007
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Submitted by
Crouse
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Bashscripts.org - Review of "bash Cookbook"
The book: bash Cookbook - Solutions and Examples for bash Users
By Carl Albing, JP Vossen, Cameron Newham
Pages: 622
First Edition: May 2007
ISBN 10: 0-596-52678-4
ISBN 13: 9780596526788
Book Link: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596526788/index.html
Code Examples: http://examples.oreilly.com/bashckbk/
Price: $49.99 USD
I had been waiting "im"-patiently for this book to show up. Ever since I noticed it was going to be written, I had been looking forward to reading it. I must say, I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoyed the book and definitely learned a few new things along the way.
This book is designed for intermediate to advanced bash users. The book states in the preface that it is for "new" users as well as those more experienced. I think that they give too much credit to someone new too bash. If you don't know what bash scripting is, this book ISN'T for you. Try the book "Learning the Bash Shell", it would be much better to learn from. I'll say it one more time -- This book isn't for those new to shell scripting. In my opinion, it kind of picks up where "Learning the Bash Shell" and "Classic Shell Scripting" from O'reilly left off. It compliments both books pretty well. Where "Learning the Bash Shell" teaches you the basics, and "Classic Shell Scripting" builds on the concepts and materials covered in the chapter before, so it's a book that is best read front to back and not just used as a reference, this book is truly more of a reference that you can use to find solutions to different problems. Hence the "cookbook" in the title.
As an intermediate to advanced user, you will find many of the solutions very simple and straightforward, but I dare say, you will find a few new twists and solutions that you might not have thought of otherwise. When used a reference, it provides a nice Table of Contents with good descriptions that allow you to quickly find answers to many common problems. Examples are clear, concise, and well documented, making it fairly easy to follow along, even if you didn't understand the syntax of the code at first. I liked the fact they included many examples of sed,awk, and even ed, which are frequently used in shell scripting, but many books barely mention those programs.
The Appendix sections (A-E) take up 83 pages of the book, several of these could very well have just been additional chapters of the book. Appendix E "Building bash from Source" could have been chapter 1. However, each chapter/section is a "recipe" so I suppose it wouldn't have been in line with the rest of the chapters at that point. All in all, a very interesting book that I read front to back. It will be a valuable reference tool, that's easy to navigate and use. The chapters I enjoyed the most were Chapter 14 "Writing Secure Shell Scripts", where they included a template for quick reference. Several of the techniques I already knew about, a few I did not. I also liked Chapter 11 "Working with Dates and Times". Many good ideas there, and some very interesting code for the "date -d" command.
There are 3 great books for shell scripters from O'reilly, this is one of them.
For the beginner "Learning the Bash Shell". It teaches you the basics.
For the intermediate user "Classic Shell Scripting". It builds on the basics, step by step.
For the intermeidate to advanced users "bash Cookbook". A reference guide for common problems.
I would probably recommend reading them in that order as well. "bash Cookbook" is definitely going to be easier to read and get use of if you already know basic shell scripting. All 3 books have that "tattered" look and a permanent place on my bookshelf. I would say, "bash Cookbook" is absolutely a book worth owning if you enjoy shell scripting. I don't think I've ever seen a more complete set of solutions in a shell scripting book. In the preface, one thing that caught my eye ..... But perhaps most importantly, we hope that when you have a question about how to do something or you need a hint, you will be able to easily find the right answer--or something close enough-- and save time and effort. ------ I think they accomplished their goal ! 5 out of 5. Excellent book...excellent.
Dave Crouse
Bashscripts.org http://bashscripts.org
USA Linux Users Group http://usalug.org
Media reviews
"This is the book you need if you've ever wondered how to automate tasks that seem to be taking too much of your time. The authors explore all of those dare corners in bash and present many workable solutions to everyday problems. "
-- Chet Ramey, bash maintainer
"All in all this is a very handy reference for a vast number of the tasks that you'll come across when scripting with the bash shell along with well-commented code. Highly recommended."
-- calvinme, Amazon.com
"I would say bash Cookbook is absolutely a book worth owning if you enjoy shell scripting. I don't think I've ever seen a more complete set of solutions in a shell scripting book. In the preface, one thing that caught my eye ..... "But perhaps most importantly, we hope that when you have a question about how to do something or you need a hint, you will be able to easily find the right answer--or something close enough-- and save time and effort." ..... I think they accomplished their goal! 5 out of 5. Excellent book...excellent. "
-- Dave Crouse, USA Linux Users Group
"The bash Cookbook (O’Reilly Media, ISBN 0596526784), written by Carl Albing, JP Vossen, and Cameron Newham, presents a series of real world administration problems with real world solutions, all written in bash. The book is packed full of useful scripts, along with examples that explain how to create better scripts. Throughout the book, issues that can get you into real trouble are tagged with a small drawing of a trap. Anyone who uses bash can benefit from the bash Cookbook. The book is available through most book stores, or can be ordered directly from O’Reilly for $49.99. Alternatively, you can pay $25.99 to read the book online."
-- Colin McGregor, Linux Magazine
"If you are a Linux administrator or are just learning the skills, you probably have more than enough Linux-centric books on your shelf. That being the case, make room for the bash Cookbook. It's the missing link in your knowledge chain."
-- James Pyles, The Linux Tutorial
"I used bash cookbook for a week. Of the half-dozen times I cracked it open, it helped me more often than it didn’t. Now, I still believe that the old UNIX Power Tools book is still the best book ever written about the UNIX command line, and likely always will be–but bash cookbook has earned its place in my reference book rotation."
-- Greg DeKoenigsberg, Red Hat Magazine
"...what you will find is bash scripting presented in a way that will solve the problems you are facing TODAY. I found the book a pleasure to skim through. Yes I did read a lot of it, but I also found myself just flipping through the pages and reading the various problems and solutions. I can easily see myself picking this book up while coding and not having to look at 100's of man pages...A very well presented book that will stay in my immediate library next to my desk as I am sure I will lean heavily on it at times."
-- James F. Koopmann, IToolbox Blogs
"This is a must-buy book if you have any involvement with scripting at any level...If you're following Linux Format's introductory tutorial series and want to know more, this is your essential primer."
-- Andy Hudson, Linux Format
"Linux system admin is something I do as part of my job. I've been able to acquire the basics and get the job done, but I knew that there were better ways to get the job done. Nothing like having an expert to help learn the ins and outs. This book allowed me to take it to the next level. There are many excellent examples on how to get it done, as well as advice on things that should not be done. There is a good mix of newbie info as well as useful tips for the seasoned veteran. There's usually more than one way to get the job done, and this book showed me some new, better ways to accomplish the task at hand. If you're working with bash, you'll find something useful in this book."
-- T. Full, Amazon.com
"[This] has been incredibly helpful in helping me improve my skills with Bash."
-- Sam Merrell, I Love Libraries
"This is the most effective bash resource I havev seen that focuses on practical resources for all (short of those who have achieved bash nirvana no matter what their level of experience."
-- Major Keary, Book News
