O'Reilly Media | UNIX Power Tools

UNIX Power Tools

By Jerry Peek, Mike Loukides, Tim O'Reilly, et al.
First Edition
Pages: 1162
ISBN 10: 0-679-79073-X | ISBN 13: 9780679790730

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Book description

Ideal for UNIX users who hunger for technical--yet accessible--information, UNIX Power Tools consists of tips, tricks, concepts, and freeware. Covers add-on utilities and how to take advantage of clever features in the most popular UNIX utilities. CD-ROM included.
Full Description

Ideal for UNIX users who hunger for technical--yet accessible--information, UNIX Power Tools consists of tips, tricks, concepts, and freeware (CD-ROM included). It also covers add-on utilities and how to take advantage of clever features in the most popular UNIX utilities. This is a browser's book...like a magazine that you don't read from start to finish, but leaf through repeatedly until you realize that you've read it all. The book is structured so that it bursts at the seams with cross references. Interesting "sidebars" explore syntax or point out other directions for exploration, including relevant technical details that might not be immediately apparent. You'll find articles abstracted from O'Reilly Nutshell Handbooks(R), new information that highlights program "tricks" and "gotchas," tips posted to the Net over the years, and other accumulated wisdom. The 55 chapters in this book discuss topics like file management, text editors, shell programming--even office automation. Overall, there's plenty of material here to satisfy even the most voracious appetites. The bottom line? UNIX Power Tools is loaded with practical advice about almost every aspect of UNIX. It will help you think creatively about UNIX, and will help you get to the point where you can analyze your own problems. Your own solutions won't be far behind. The CD-ROM includes all of the scripts and aliases from the book, plus perl, GNU emacs, pbmplus (manipulation utilities), ispell,screen, the sc spreadsheet, and about 60 other freeware programs. In addition to the source code, all the software is precompiled for Sun3, Sun4, DECstation, IBM RS/6000, HP 9000 (700 series), SCO Xenix, and SCO UNIX. (SCO UNIX binaries will likely also run on other Intel UNIX platforms, including Univel's new UNIXware.)

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Cover | Table of Contents | Index | Colophon

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"This book by Peek, O'Reilly and Loukides is an epic in itself. I have seen very few books so thorough, yet so interesting till the last page. The high quality is maintained throughout.

"The book has 55 chapters, but you can start reading it virtually anywhere! Each section of the book has extensive cross-references to relevant places in the book. The cross-references are not only limited to the text but also found in the example code. The use of blue ink to print cross-references means that they catch your eyes quickly. The 'screw' and 'bomb' icons alert you to be careful with the particular feature being described. There are summary boxes in many sections. The accompanying CD-ROM has many useful scripts and programs that are described in the book. Presence of the code on CD-ROM is indicated by its own icon.

"Although a first look might lead you to think that this is just another manual-type book, it won't take you long before realizing that it is in fact quite different from a manual. The emphasis throughout is on teaching how to do things rather than what various commands and options mean. For some utilities whose expositions might require a separate book, the authors teach enough details to get you started doing some useful work.

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