Customer Reviews

Beginning the Linux Command Line (Expert's Voice in Open Source)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some day learning Linux will be painless. Truly painless dentistry is like to arrive first.

Linux is an extravagantly rich environment. The more I penetrate its mysteries, the more I comprehend why Linux fanatics are fanatics: Linux is beautiful, Linux is stable, Linux is overflowing with useful features and tools, Linux is stable, Linux is free.

But for the newcomer, Linux is overwhelming, especially at the command line. "Linux In A Nutshell", the bible of all Linux commands, runs to hundreds of pages, each filled with arcane language.

Many authors have attempted to make Linux more readily accessible for the beginner. Often such books are merely lists of the commands needed to get started, accompanied by brief explanations. Some, on the other hand, attempt to be encyclopedias of Linux. Others, like "Beginning the Linux Command Line" try to convey what the beginner most needs - just enough information to make them comfortable in a Linux environment, just enough commands to get them started on various tasks and just enough explanation so the reader understands what they are doing and, more importantly, why.

"Beginning the Linux Command Line" is one of the more successful entries in this genre. It begins with a concise, but substantial history of the development of Linux, what he command line environment is and why it is often better, what the shell is, how commands entered at the command line are executed, what MAN pages are and how to use them. That last point about MAN pages becomes the Achilles heel of the book, but more on that later.

Par for the course, "Beginning the Linux Command Line" presumes that the user will be administering a system, which I guess is true even for a desktop environment. The progression of topics is logical, though some might disagree with the precise order. Performing essential command-line tasks; administering the Linux File System; working with text files, managing partitions and logical volumes; managing users and groups; managing permissions; managing software; process and system management; sysem logging; configuring the network; configuring a file server; working with the kernel (which is an excellent chapter) and an introduction to Bash Shell scripting. This is a lot more information than the very new, very basic user needs at the outset and can be intimidating just by a perusal of the table of the contents. I would suggest that the authors would have been better served by breaking the book into sections, i.e. "for the beginner", "intermediate users" and so on.

The writing is excellent. Technical issues are dissembled in clear English with few diversions or distractions. Straight-forward examples are abundant. The author has a touch and seems aware of when less will do and where more is needed. Sander van Vught is an outstanding technical writer.

However, the book has a failing, a significant one in my eyes, but definitely not a showstopper. The author sometimes omits information that I feel should be in the book. For example, in an otherwise highly detailed explanation of the MOUNT command, the author inexplicably decided to omit discussion of the -o options which, in my opinion, are extremely important and easily misunderstood by the beginner. Instead the reader is referred to the MAN pages. MAN pages are often incomprehensible to the newcomer.

Choices like that keep "Beginning the Linux Command Line" from being a standout in my opinion. Even so, the book is an excellent introduction to using the Linux command line.

Jerry

I've been a windows admin for many years and my Linux skills come and go (more go than come). I picked up this book in a brick & mortar store with a cup of joe and I was done the 1st 4 chapters in no time. What an easy read and I felt the cobwebs clear and new commands become part of my lexicon.
I couldn't WAIT to have the book in hand and I didn't want it on my iPad (I love to write in the margins and dog ear pages on technical books), so I PAID for it. It was worth every penny. I got home and worked through every command (new and old alike). I'm a better admin because of it. I'm no pro, but I feel much more confident about maneuvering around the command line; more that I ever had before.

If like me you are starting Linux with just a DOS and Windows background, then this book will be invaluable. It details many of the Linux commands and gives plenty of examples. It provides essential reading, if you are to get to grips with the mind-bending details of the different Linux systems. It includes good sections on administering file systems, and also on scripting.

In the days that I and others were first exposed to the canonical Unix Operating System (in my case DIGITAL's Ultrix) users needed to learn the Bourne Command Shell and the Variety of Text and File Manipulation tools as well as at least a basic grasp of the C-Programming language. Today, Graphical Tools available in all Linux Distributions make many of the User and Systems Administration tasks that must be accomplished by the home and business user a simple matter of pull-down menu's and graphical selections. This book, in a simple and logical manner, delivered by Sander van Vugt a Linux Expert and excellent technical writer, gives the underlying command line tools and systems understanding that would enable a new (or experienced user) to handle all important phases of file and process administration as well command-line scripting, basic systems administration, and networking. Importantly, by using command-line tools and simple shell scripts the user not only understands what s/he is doing in using and manipulating the Linux System, but they can immediately function in a differing Linux distribution or graphical environment.

I highly recommend this compact, yet comprehensive introduction to Linux from the Command Line (or Bash Shell Scripts) that will enable the user or small system administrator to understand what they are doing and function in a variety of Linux distributions and window-based environments.

--Ira Laefsky
MSE/MBA IT Consultant and HCI Researcher
formerly on the Senior Consulting Staff of Arthur D. Little, Inc. and DIGITAL Equipment Corporation

I enjoyed reading every line of it. I read many technical books and this is one of those books that really makes me feel I am getting smarter as I am reading it.

I am learning so many tips from this book. I am now a much more efficient Linux system admin than I have ever been.

I would like to thank the author and please keep writing about Linux and other open source projects.

I love your writing style

All of the previous reviews are accurate to a point. One major perspective is that not all Linux beginners are involved in, or desire to be, system administrators. If one is going to call a book a beginner's guide, then start at the beginning! During installation, how do I connect to my wireless network? What is a domain name? (I thought my domain name was on my server and began with "www.") Does the program (Slackware 13.37) mean "my computer's name?" Why not just say so? Once I get the disto installed, how do I create a document? How do I open that document? Dealing with "Vi" right out of the gate? Why? Why not tell me about "Nano" first? I am having to consult 4 different "beginners' guides" (including this one) to actually get the information I need. Isn't there a truly simple beginners' guide out there, along the lines of "Visual Guide to..."?