Advanced Programming in the UNIX(R) Environment (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

~ W. Richard Stevens (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Stephen Rago's update is a long overdue benefit to the community of professionals using the versatile family of UNIX and UNIX-like operating environments. It removes obsolescence and includes newer developments. It also thoroughly updates the context of all topics, examples, and applications to recent releases of popular implementations of UNIX and UNIX-like environments. And yet, it does all this while retaining the style and taste of the original classic." --Mukesh Kacker, cofounder and former CTO of Pronto Networks, Inc. "One of the essential classics of UNIX programming." --Eric S. Raymond, author of The Art of UNIX Programming "This is the definitive reference book for any serious or professional UNIX systems programmer. Rago has updated and extended the classic Stevens text while keeping true to the original. The APIs are illuminated by clear examples of their use. He also mentions many of the pitfalls to look out for when programming across different UNIX system implementations and points out how to avoid these pitfalls using relevant standards such as POSIX 1003.1, 2004 edition and the Single UNIX Specification, Version 3." --Andrew Josey, Director, Certification, The Open Group, and Chair of the POSIX 1003.1 Working Group "Advanced Programming in the UNIX(R) Environment, Second Edition, is an essential reference for anyone writing programs for a UNIX system. It's the first book I turn to when I want to understand or re-learn any of the various system interfaces. Stephen Rago has successfully revised this book to incorporate newer operating systems such as GNU/Linux and Apple's OS X while keeping true to the first edition in terms of both readability and usefulness. It will always have a place right next to my computer." --Dr. Benjamin Kuperman, Swarthmore College Praise for the First Edition "Advanced Programming in the UNIX(R) Environment is a must-have for any serious C programmer who works under UNIX. Its depth, thoroughness, and clarity of explana-tion are unmatched." --UniForum Monthly "Numerous readers recommended Advanced Programming in the UNIX(R) Environment by W. Richard Stevens (Addison-Wesley), and I'm glad they did; I hadn't even heard of this book, and it's been out since 1992. I just got my hands on a copy, and the first few chapters have been fascinating." --Open Systems Today "A much more readable and detailed treatment of UNIX internals can be found in Advanced Programming in the UNIX(R) Environment by W. Richard Stevens (Addison-Wesley). This book includes lots of realistic examples, and I find it quite helpful when I have systems programming tasks to do." --RS/Magazine "This is the definitive reference book for any serious or professional UNIX systems programmer. Rago has updated and extended the original Stevens classic while keeping true to the original." --Andrew Josey, Director, Certification, The Open Group, and Chair of the POSIX 1003.1 Working Group For over a decade, serious C programmers have relied on one book for practical, in-depth knowledge of the programming interfaces that drive the UNIX and Linux kernels: W. Richard Stevens' Advanced Programming in the UNIX(R) Environment. Now, Stevens' colleague Stephen Rago has thoroughly updated this classic to reflect the latest technical advances and add support for today's leading UNIX and Linux platforms. Rago carefully retains the spirit and approach that made this book a classic. Building on Stevens' work, he begins with basic topics such as files, directories, and processes, carefully laying the groundwork for understanding more advanced techniques, such as signal handling and terminal I/O. Substantial new material includes chapters on threads and multithreaded programming, using the socket interface to drive interprocess communication (IPC), and extensive coverage of the interfaces added to the latest version of the POSIX.1 standard. Nearly all examples have been tested on four of today's most widely used UNIX/Linux platforms: FreeBSD 5.2.1; the Linux 2.4.22 kernel; Solaris 9; and Darwin 7.4.0, the FreeBSD/Mach hybrid underlying Apple's Mac OS X 10.3. As in the first edition, you'll learn through example, including more than 10,000 lines of downloadable, ANSI C source code. More than 400 system calls and functions are demonstrated with concise, complete programs that clearly illustrate their usage, arguments, and return values. To tie together what you've learned, the book presents several chapter-length case studies, each fully updated for contemporary environments. Advanced Programming in the UNIX(R) Environment has helped a generation of programmers write code with exceptional power, performance, and reliability. Now updated for today's UNIX/Linux systems, this second edition will be even more indispensable.

From the Back Cover

"Stephen Rago's update is a long overdue benefit to the community of professionals using the versatile family of UNIX and UNIX-like operating environments. It removes obsolescence and includes newer developments. It also thoroughly updates the context of all topics, examples, and applications to recent releases of popular implementations of UNIX and UNIX-like environments. And yet, it does all this while retaining the style and taste of the original classic."

--Mukesh Kacker, cofounder and former CTO of Pronto Networks, Inc.

"One of the essential classics of UNIX programming."

--Eric S. Raymond, author of The Art of UNIX Programming

"This is the definitive reference book for any serious or professional UNIX systems programmer. Rago has updated and extended the classic Stevens text while keeping true to the original. The APIs are illuminated by clear examples of their use. He also mentions many of the pitfalls to look out for when programming across different UNIX system implementations and points out how to avoid these pitfalls using relevant standards such as POSIX 1003.1, 2004 edition and the Single UNIX Specification, Version 3."

--Andrew Josey, Director, Certification, The Open Group, and Chair of the POSIX 1003.1 Working Group

"Advanced Programming in the UNIX® Environment, Second Edition, is an essential reference for anyone writing programs for a UNIX system. It's the first book I turn to when I want to understand or re-learn any of the various system interfaces. Stephen Rago has successfully revised this book to incorporate newer operating systems such as GNU/Linux and Apple's OS X while keeping true to the first edition in terms of both readability and usefulness. It will always have a place right next to my computer."

--Dr. Benjamin Kuperman, Swarthmore College

Praise for the First Edition

"Advanced Programming in the UNIX® Environment is a must-have for any serious C programmer who works under UNIX. Its depth, thoroughness, and clarity of explana-tion are unmatched."

--UniForum Monthly

"Numerous readers recommended Advanced Programming in the UNIX® Environment by W. Richard Stevens (Addison-Wesley), and I'm glad they did; I hadn't even heard of this book, and it's been out since 1992. I just got my hands on a copy, and the first few chapters have been fascinating."

--Open Systems Today

"A much more readable and detailed treatment of UNIX internals can be found in Advanced Programming in the UNIX® Environment by W. Richard Stevens (Addison-Wesley). This book includes lots of realistic examples, and I find it quite helpful when I have systems programming tasks to do."

--RS/Magazine

"This is the definitive reference book for any serious or professional UNIX systems programmer. Rago has updated and extended the original Stevens classic while keeping true to the original."

--Andrew Josey, Director, Certification, The Open Group, and Chair of the POSIX 1003.1 Working Group

For over a decade, serious C programmers have relied on one book for practical, in-depth knowledge of the programming interfaces that drive the UNIX and Linux kernels: W. Richard Stevens' Advanced Programming in the UNIX® Environment. Now, Stevens' colleague Stephen Rago has thoroughly updated this classic to reflect the latest technical advances and add support for today's leading UNIX and Linux platforms.

Rago carefully retains the spirit and approach that made this book a classic. Building on Stevens' work, he begins with basic topics such as files, directories, and processes, carefully laying the groundwork for understanding more advanced techniques, such as signal handling and terminal I/O.

Substantial new material includes chapters on threads and multithreaded programming, using the socket interface to drive interprocess communication (IPC), and extensive coverage of the interfaces added to the latest version of the POSIX.1 standard. Nearly all examples have been tested on four of today's most widely used UNIX/Linux platforms: FreeBSD 5.2.1; the Linux 2.4.22 kernel; Solaris 9; and Darwin 7.4.0, the FreeBSD/Mach hybrid underlying Apple's Mac OS X 10.3.

As in the first edition, you'll learn through example, including more than 10,000 lines of downloadable, ANSI C source code. More than 400 system calls and functions are demonstrated with concise, complete programs that clearly illustrate their usage, arguments, and return values. To tie together what you've learned, the book presents several chapter-length case studies, each fully updated for contemporary environments.

Advanced Programming in the UNIX® Environment has helped a generation of programmers write code with exceptional power, performance, and reliability. Now updated for today's UNIX/Linux systems, this second edition will be even more indispensable.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 960 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 2 edition (June 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201433079
• ISBN-13: 978-0201433074
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,603 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding second edition of a computing classic, December 2, 2005

By	calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This badly needed update to the classic first edition preserves what is best about the old edition, which is the format and attention to detail, and adds the changes that have occurred to the UNIX operating system since the first edition was published back in 1992. Specifically, there are implementation samples for FreeBSD, Linus, and MAC OS X included. This edition is as the first one was, an excellent reference for anyone doing system level programming in C or C++ on the UNIX platform. It is was never intended to teach the reader the fundamentals of the UNIX environment nor to teach C/C++ programming. The author assumes a strong knowledge of both. The book begins much as the first edition did, by explaining the UNIX kernel in generic terms. It then goes on to explain the various implementations of UNIX and their specific differences. You will find chapters three through ten largely unchanged from the first edition, as the basic mechanisms of file I/O, directory structure, interprocess control, and signaling have not evolved since that time. Chapters eleven and twelve are two new added chapters on threads, as threading has become very important in UNIX system programming. Also, gone is the chapter on interfacing to a postscript printer. It is replaced by a more modern chapter on communicating with a network printer. The HTTP protocol is discussed in this context. The book contains a rich set of examples and downloadable code that is very useful. In addition, the book contains the implementations of two large-scale projects: a database library and communication with a network printer. Each project includes complete code with schematics. This book also contains numerous exercises, and the solutions to some of those exercises are included in the back of the book. Since Amazon, and some reviewers, show the table of contents for the first edition but not the second, I include that here for the purpose of completeness:
1. UNIX System Overview
2. UNIX Standardization and Implementations
3. File I/O
4. Files and Directories
5. Standard I/O Library
6. System Data Files and Information
7. Process Environment
8. Process Control
9. Process Relationships
10. Signals
11. Threads
12. Thread Control
13. Daemon Processes
14. Advanced I/O
15. Interprocess Communication
16. Network IPC: Sockets
17 Advanced IPC
18. Terminal I/O
19. Pseudo Terminals
20. A Database Library
21. Communicating with a Network Printer
Appendix A. Function Prototypes
Appendix B. Miscellaneous Source Code
Appendix C. Solutions to Selected Exercises

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb update of the first edition, July 9, 2005

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Many of you who learnt unix in the 90s would have cut your teeth on the first edition of this book. This second edition should be well received. It encapsulates the changes in the unix world since 92. Most importantly, it shows the rise of linux. A rise that is still unabated.

Broadly, the structure of this edition matches the first edition. Rago was brought in as co-author after Stevens died in 99, and he has deliberately kept this consistency. I was glad to see that Rago kept the exercises at the end of each chapter. Many computer books seem to dispense with this, which can be a pity for anyone who needs hands on tasks to learn from.

The threading chapters are a significant change from the first edition. Not simple reading, but they do reflect powerful ways to possibly optimise your code. The biggest cost for you may be the effort you need to invest in understanding the coding issues in these chapters. Rago's code examples are deliberately short, and necessarily somewhat artificial. But they do demonstrate well the various threading issues.

Of course, other chapters have had minimal alterations. How much have terminal I/O or pseudoterminals changed in 10 years? Those chapters may be old friends to you.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome book for systems programming, November 10, 2006

By	Tyler (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This book is literally saving me right now in an Introduction to Operating Systems class I'm taking. We have projects to complete in the UNIX envrionment and the fact that this book gives you every real code example you could possibly need for all levels of systems programming is GOLD. It's laid out in a very straightforward way, has tons of code examples, and is overall awesome. Highly recommend if you're just getting into systems programming on your own, or as a school reference book.