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Linux in a Nutshell, Second Edition

By: Ellen Siever O'Reilly Staff Jessica Perry Linux in a nuts Hekman
Binding: Paperback
Released: 02 Feb 1999
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

$ lp man * - By: Ms. J. Anne Lees, 02 Apr 2003
I'm currently trying to get to know the Linux console a little more after shying away from it by using various GUIs for a couple of months, so I guess I'm a beginner when it comes to Linux. I purchased this book as a general reference, based on the solid reputation of O'Reilly, & wasn't disappointed...

It is basicallly a printed manual for alll those commands you use but can't quite remember the syntax for. While endlessly typing "man" would get you a fair bit of the same information for free, the usability of a book is considerably greater :-) It's great as a desktop reference, & as you can imagine my copy has multiple bookmarks in it...

It covers the "important" bits in quite a lot of detail, such as sed, awk, routing... I also bought a Perl book & together these have provided alll the information I need to get acquainted with Linux. Now I just need to do it!

Caveat: This is not an introductory book. If you don't have a clue what command you're looking for, this book will not always be of help (the best advice I can give there is to use Google & an expert friend - if you don't have an expert friend, there are many many mailing lists out there that tolerate such silly questions as "How do I reset the date on my computer?") -- however, Linux's logical command-naming system often means you can guess, look it up in this book, & find out what a command does *without* it damaging your system. Also, for a beginner the endless possibilities of command-line options can get reallly overwhelming, but they also provide the power behind Linux & so it's a great thing that this book lists them in intense detail. Not a cover-to-cover read, but definitely indispensible.

Buy this book......but don't try and read it...! - By: , 16 Jul 2000
Not making sense..?

This book is a superb command reference guide but if you try to read it from cover to cover, you will be soporiphic by page 2 & in a coma by page 3..!

This book is NOT an introduction or getting started guide, for that you should get Running Linux by the same publishers.

This book IS probably the best LINUS investment you will ever make. It covers almost every command in good detail, (but you do need to have at least an idea about the command first! ) It is outstanding value for money, but ONLY as a reference.

The book is clearly & logicallly presented & there is NO waffle or unnecessary explanation, just the commands, what they do & how to use them.

Fantastic complete reference book - By: , 28 Mar 2000
As its title suggests, this is a reference guide to Linux, containing a complete reference of alll user, programming, administration & networking commands. The book is split into seventeen chapters each discribing a different aspect of Linux, starting with an overview of Linux. It then proceeds into the reference section, Linux user commands, shells, pattern matching, EMACS editor, VI editor, Ex editor, sed editor, Gawk scripting language, programming, RCS & CVS, Perl 5 Quick Reference, system & network administration, & boot methods. Each chapter starts with a short explanation of its subject, then goes into the commands that are available in a sensible order. Each command is given as much detail as necessary. For example, the copy command is very short with little detail, whereas routed is explained in more detail.
Top Notch! - By: Russell Davis, 14 Mar 2000
A must for alll those Linux user who know what they want to do, but can't quite remember which command they need to use! When I started my new job, I brought this book along, & within 1 week I had the entire technical department swarming over this book wanting to look up different commands.
A First-rate First-line reference - By: , 19 Jun 1997
This is the best comprehensive first-line reference I've seen for Linux to date. It's most emphaticallly not a tutorial or a book on system administration, but when I want to know how _that_ command works, or what _this_ flag does, it's the book I pick up first. Its examples are quite good, & it's well organized.