Customer Reviews

Complete Idiot's Guide to UNIX (The Complete Idiot's Guide)

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Sun has a promotion where you can buy Solaris 7 (comes with Intel and Sparc CD-ROMS) for $9.95! I know nothing about Unix and figured why not learn on the best.. Installation was easy, but I was clueless on how to use the Solaris OS, so I needed a good book on teaching Unix from ground zero. Hence, this books is awesome!

This book does an awesome job at explaining the differences between AT&T Unix and BSD Unix, and how Solaris, HP-UX, etc. are a merger of the two. The commands you learn are all clearly explained with lots of text examples and pictures too. You learn file permissions, how to read a directory listing and know what the persmissions are for various users, you learn what TAR is and how to use it, you learn administrative functions like useradd, usermod, userdel, stuff that works on all Unix platforms! This book explains the different shell (Bourne, BASH, CSH, etc.) and differentiates any commands you may need to type.

Many people say that it takes years to be a master at Unix. Yes, I believe it takes time but with resources like this it speeds up the process of learning the basics and the flow of the book makes sense. Some people spend 6 months trying to understand X Windows. This book tells you all you need to know about X, CDE, OpenWindows, Motif, and more..

At one point (before owning this book) I was frustrated because I had this killer OS (Solaris) but didn't know how to use it. I bought another "intro" book that didn't explain things very well but I thought it was just me..and that my learning abilities seriously suffered on Unix. I almost threw in the towel. This book changed all of that. GET IT! IT'S TOTALLY WORTH IT! And the price is right too... you can't lose! I know some people try and plug books just for the fun of it, but I SWEAR TO YOU that this book is awesome! Now I can read the 2 Official Sun Solaris books (Solaris Administration and Advanced Solaris Administration) and they will make a whole lot more sense!

This is a very well written book as an intro to Unix. I know just about nothing on Unix and wanted to learn what Unix is about. After finishing this book, I found myself understanding how and what Unix is. It uses simple language to explain the OS to you instead of technical terms of which leaves you scratching your head in sheer frustration. I found it very enjoyable reading about how Unix was born and the different flavors of Unix out there. It also teaches you the basic shell commands to get around the OS. After finishing this book and practicing what you've learned in the book, you're definitely able to move around a little bit better on Unix than before. It won't turn you into an expert by any means but it will give you a good foundation for you to head toward that direction. I am usually very skeptical about the Idiot or Dummy book series but this one is an exception to the rule. This is not one of those books which leaves you completely exhausted for you feel the task of learning Unix is going to be beyond you. It leaves you feeling that Unix isn't all that tough. The book does not go into details about any of the Unix flavors and what each is truly about, the security features or why one might be more suitable for certain tasks you might want to do.

This book was an excellent book for beginner's who want to use UNIX and know a little more about how it is used. It goes over editors, techniques, and the most used comands in UNIX even for the advanced programmer. But note, it is not a recommended book for intermediate or advanced programmers who want to learn more information about UNIX and how it works since it is very basic in content. excellent though, for the starter.

What a life-saver! I had to learn UNIX, and I had to learn it quick! I almost went into a panic.....(I ripped my CAPS LOCK off out of sheer frustration)..... Getting into "The Complete Idiot's Guide To UNIX" was easy. I read the first few chapters for breakfast, the rest of it for lunch, and ate a sensible dinner!!!!!!!! Seriously, though.....This book is great(and fun)...someone decided a long time ago that manuals should be dull....this book SHATTERS that paradigm....with cute quips and fun facts....ENJOY!!

Complete Idiots books are cheap, so I buy one every once in a while. (Most of them suffalo mucho tho). This book is actually useful. I have other Unix books and I'd say this book is easily comparable to a 35.00 book on the same subject. For once, the author didn't try to get stupid or cute or be overly funny. He opted out for giving solid info instead. For thirteen or fourteen bucks, this book will give you the tickles in your smart-guy computer chin..

From this book's inner jacket (A Quick Reference guide and a Command Reference guide) to the reference information provided at its end, this book provides an excellent introduction to the world of UNIX. Even "seasoned" UNIX users can pick up a few facts from here, like the "history" of UNIX, the numerous UNIX operating system "flavors," and even troubleshooting common system problems.

But there's much more here. There are chapters devoted to topics like the different UNIX "shells" (and their descriptions), file manipulation (along with opening, editing, saving, and printing files), working with the X Windows system, UNIX text editors like vi and emacs, and even how UNIX and the 'Net are intertwined with each other.

One more thing I liked about this book (besides the wonderful diagrams and screen captures) was the attention paid to describing various UNIX commands and their options. That really helps to "de-mystify" this operating system.

Even though I'm more of an "intermediate" UNIX user, I've searched for a long time for a good introductory UNIX book. I'd say this one definitely fits the bill.

Informative and well-written, this book taught me more about UNIX than any other single source I've turned to. Bill Wagner has made this an entertaining read -- quick and witty but not overly cute -- and it actually contains real information, not just basic commands and theory. UNIX was totally new to me, and this book has already helped me learn my way around. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone else just starting out.

Very much indeed great price and value, and all of the general Unix commands for every diverse system in this book still works for today to me so far. Lots of great and goody Unix goodies and sites. you'll learn all of the basics in NO TIME. The only drawback to me is that it had much shell scripts in the book, but did not explicitly say how to run them, and perhaps this a good reason for a wide variety on Unix systems, but I Googled it, and that was an easy fix! I love easy books, and books like this these days are vey hard to come by.

For someone who always feared learing UNIX, this made me look like an idiot for delaying that for so long!

This book is amazing. not only is it a good reference book for beginners to experts, it contains valuable references to sources outside of the book. McMullen makes no attempt at completing a thorough "UNIX bible." Rather he usese this book to illustrate the basics and use references and tools to find more information in addition to this book. I think that that aspect is what makes this book indispensible. The "UNIX for Dummies" is not as good as this one