Learning the Korn Shell (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Arnold Robbins (Author), Bill Rosenblatt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0596001959 | ISBN-13: 978-0596001957 | Publication Date: April 30, 2002 | Edition: 2nd

The Korn shell is an interactive command and scripting language for accessing Unix® and other computer systems. As a complete and high-level programming language in itself, it's been a favorite since it was developed in the mid 1980s by David G. Korn at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Knowing how to use it is an essential skill for serious Unix users. Learning the Korn Shell shows you how to use the Korn shell as a user interface and as a programming environment.

Writing applications is often easier and quicker with Korn than with other high-level languages. Because of this, the Korn shell is the most often used shell in commercial environments and among inexperienced users. There are two other widely used shells, the Bourne shell and the C shell. The Korn shell, or ksh, has the best features of both, plus many new features of its own. ksh can do much to enhance productivity and the quality of a user's work, both in interacting with the system, and in programming. The new version, ksh93, has the functionality of other scripting languages such as awk, icon, Perl, rexx, and tcl.

Learning the Korn Shell is the key to gaining control of the Korn shell and becoming adept at using it as an interactive command and scripting language. Prior programming experience is not required in order to understand the chapters on basic shell programming. Readers will learn how to write many applications more easily and quickly than with other high-level languages. In addition, readers will also learn about Unix utilities and the way the Unix operating system works in general. The authors maintain that you shouldn't have to be an internals expert to use and program the shell effectively.

The second edition covers all the features of the current version of the Korn shell, including many new features not in earlier versions of ksh93, making it the most up-to-date reference available on the Korn shell. It compares the current version of the Korn shell to several other Bourne-compatible shells, including several Unix emulation environments for MS-DOS and Windows. In addition, it describes how to download and build ksh93 from source code.

A solid offering for many years, this newly revised title inherits a long tradition of trust among computer professionals who want to learn or refine an essential skill.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This Nutshell Handbook(R) is a thorough introduction to the Korn shell, both as a user interface and as a programming language. The Korn shell, like the C and Bourne shells, is a program that interprets UNIX commands. It has many features that aren't found in other shells, including command history (the ability to recall and edit previous commands). The Korn shell is also faster; several of its features allow you to write programs that execute more quickly than their Bourne or C shell equivalents. This book provides a clear and concise explanation of the Korn shell's features. It explains ksh string operations, co-processes, signals and signal handling, and one of the worst "dark corners" of shell programming: command-line interpretation. It does this by introducing simple real-life examples and then adding options and complexity in later chapters, illustrating the way real-world script development generally proceeds. An additional (and unique) programming aid, a Korn shell debugger (kshdb), is also included. Learning the Korn Shell is an ideal resource for many UNIX users and programmers, including software developers who want to "prototype" their designs, system administrators who want to write tools for their own use, and even novices who just want to use some of ksh's more advanced interactive features. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Arnold Robbins, an Atlanta native, is a professional programmer and technical author. He has worked with Unix systems since 1980, when he was introduced to a PDP-11 running a version of Sixth Edition Unix. He has been a heavy AWK user since 1987, when he became involved with gawk, the GNU project's version of AWK. As a member of the POSIX 1003.2 balloting group, he helped shape the POSIX standard for AWK. He is currently the maintainer of gawk and its documentation. He is also coauthor of the sixth edition of O'Reilly's Learning the vi Editor. Since late 1997, he and his family have been living happily in Israel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 2nd edition (April 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596001959
• ISBN-13: 978-0596001957
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Computers & Technology > Operating Systems > Unix > Shell

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but has some flaws, August 13, 1999

By 

R. EARLS "r.e." (Overland Park, Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning the Korn Shell (Paperback)

I have owned this book since 1996 and I used it as my introduction to Korn shell programming. To the credit of the book, I was able to become very adept at Korn shell and I have written some amazing scripts. However, I must admit that some sections of this book are misleading, confusing and downright incomprehensible. It took many re-readings of some chapters before the author's lesson was brought to light. I would recommend this book as a Korn shell reference, but it is probably not the best place to start for a Korn shell beginner. I am finding this to be true for a lot of the books by O'Reilly & Associates.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good textbook-style reference for Korn, March 9, 2000

By 

Justin Deal - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning the Korn Shell (Paperback)

When I bought this book, I had already spent a year working in a UNIX environment, but I had no real experience with shell programming. However, after reading this book, I'm having no problems writing intermediate to advanced level Korn scripts at work.

It sounds like some people who have reviewed this were expecting a Nutshell book, but apparently they didn't read the description of the book. To truly appreciate this book, one should read it in a fairly linear fashion, from cover to cover (like a textbook). It's not really meant to be skimmed, since it's not one of the Nutshell books.

Whatever the case, I think that for anyone interested in Korn shell programming, this is a pretty good introduction to it. My only recommendation is that you practice the concepts in the book while reading, and make sure you have a copy of 'UNIX in a Nutshell'.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for the beginner - advanced ksh programmer, March 30, 2001

By 

Aquaria.Info "Aquaria.Info - Aquarium Fish On... (Aquaria.Info) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning the Korn Shell (Paperback)

This is a great book for someone new to ksh programmer. It should be treated as a work manual and not as a reference book. Read this book through from cover to cover and you'll soon be writing ksh scripts with ease.

The book takes you though Korn shell basics from answer what a shell is to using files, I/O, and character quoting.

From there it goes into command line editing, customizing your environment, and into basic programming. Once through that you learn flow control, arrays, advanced I/O, and process handling.

Finally you learn how to debug the script you just wrote.

As a reference manual this book is average. It's not meant to be a typical "nutshell" book and shouldn't be treated as one.

The bottom line? Buy this book if you are truly interested in learning how to program in the Korn shell.