UNIX For Dummies [Paperback]

John R. Levine (Author), Margaret Levine Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0764504193 | ISBN-13: 978-0764504198 | Edition: 4th

UNIX has been evolving feverishly for close to 30 years, sort of like bacteria in a cesspool – only not as attractive. As a result, many different varieties of UNIX have existed along the way. Although they all share numerous characteristics, they differ just enough that even experienced users are tripped up by the differences between versions.

If you’re like most UNIX users, a zealot stopped at your desk, connected your terminal or workstation, gave you five minutes of incomprehensible advice, demonstrated a few bizarre games (like roaches that hide behind the work on your screen), and disappeared. Now you’re on your own.

Don’t worry. UNIX For Dummies, 4th Edition, cuts through all the technojargon lurking in the UNIX command jungle to deliver clear instructions just how and when you need them. This indispensable reference includes sections on

• Typing commands
• Copying, renaming, and deleting files
• Printing files
• Finding where your file went
• Using the Internet from UNIX
• Connecting and communicating with people on other computers

Discover how to get your UNIX system's attention, persuade it that you are allowed to use it, and even accomplish something useful as you find out how to

• Choose the right flavor of UNIX for you
• Set up and operate UNIX terminals
• Manage files, directories, and printing
• Use the Common Desktop Environment and other window systems
• Browse the Web, send and receive e-mail, and read Usenet newsgroups
• Deal with all the major versions of UNIX, including Berkeley UNIX, Solaris, and SunOS
• Troubleshoot and solve common problems

The expert writing team of John Levin and Margaret Levin Young also give you a look at the latest developments with Linux, the wildly popular, completely free version of UNIX – all in a single volume designed to put you in command with a computer system that can be tamed.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The title of this book invites comment. "Some things weren't meant for dummies and Unix is one of them," you might say. Wrong! Levine and Young take advantage of the Dummies format's strength with command-line operating systems. They flatten the learning curve and have even the greenest beginner doing useful work with Unix in mere hours.

Once you get past a couple of pointless chapters about offering pizza to Unix experts in exchange for help, you'll find conceptual explanations of files, directories, permissions, and redirection. Command explanations take a hybrid form; they mix "type this verbatim" statements with tables showing switches and parameters.

Much of Unix for Dummies is task-oriented. You'll find a whole chapter on printing, for example, that covers the commands you'll need to know to format and print a document on the right printer. Other chapters cover file searches, software installation, and X Windows navigation. The book also provides cursory coverage of four text editors--ED, vi, Emacs, and pico--but you learn little more than how to enter and save text in each.

Levine and Young include an eminently useful "DOS-to-Unix Rosetta Stone" that immediately tells you, for example, that the approximate Unix equivalent of DOS's copy is cp. DOS experts who are new transplants to a Unix environment will appreciate this translation guide. The authors wrap up with a wealth of basic troubleshooting information and a command reference.

This book, along with its companion, More Unix for Dummies, is the perfect choice for those who have no knowledge of Unix and need to learn it quickly. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Administer UNIX on a LAN and use the newest utilities

Understand the UNIX shell, go online with new browser options, and get things doneSo you’re using UNIX these days? Sure, it can be a little tricky, but this friendly guide will lead you through all its peculiarities. Soon you’ll understand the GNOME^TM and KDE^TM desktops, know the secret names of your Web files, Samba with the file server, and most importantly, know how to sidestep common problems.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Find out which flavor of UNIX you have
• Manage UNIX on a LAN
• Handle files and directories for Web sites
• Build good directory structures
• Recover missing or damaged files

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 4th edition (September 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764504193
• ISBN-13: 978-0764504198
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,674,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A reply to some really ODD reviews. May 21, 2008

By B. L. Ridenhour VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

First, this is a beginner's book. It does the job, no question. If you already know the basics of UNIX, skip it ... you won't learn that much. Buy O'Reilly or Power Tools or whatever you think will help you the most for the *specific* way you want to use UNIX.

For those of you who want to set up a BSD network, or Linux cluster...[sigh]...please buy a book on UNIX networks and/or Linux clusters. You will by no means master MPI or system's level programming in C with this book. What you will learn is a bit more than the very basics. What a directory structure is, how to create, delete, re-permission files, configure some of your user preferences, etc. You will be introduced to the UNIX paradigms that we all live with, and might or might not learn how to tweak the specific thing you're interested in (like "nice"-ness of processes, and the perfect ".alias.all" file, though you'll glimpse their existence). So .... use this to learn about UNIX, not how to use UNIX to automate your life. If you need to write a 200 line shell script, you should already know all this and more. If you want to organize and move some files around, and generally not be an ignoramus in UNIX, then this is as good a place to start as any. It will not, however, make you worthy of a black T-shirt and the title of SYS. ADMIN.

(My UNIX background is extensive, starting around '91, so while I am by no means a UNIX guru, I use it effectively without letting it become a hobby. For things I don't know or can't remember, I "man page", just like everyone else. I taught intro classes at the University level, and I *ONLY WISH* my students had come to me already knowing 25% of what's in this book! It is reasonable to learn only what is in this book, and stop forever unless your job/curriculum demands more.... Many users never attain this level, yet function just fine in their "mostly-MSWindows" environments, using UNIX only occasionally.) If you need to pick up UNIX from scratch, don't fear this book. There's *plenty* to learn here. If you're already an NT/XP ADMIN, you aren't really a Dummy, now are you?

The Sam's 24-Hour book is quite good, costs nearly double, and I *GUARANTEE* it covers material you could care less about. PERL programming, for instance, would be a waste in my case. That is not UNIX, much like PHP is not "Internet For Dummies" material. Yes, it can be very useful, but it's a "related topic", at best. Since I have no skin in the game, pick whichever you like (or go with the cheaper option, would be my recomendation), and absorb as much as you can. Then go to work on your system. Nothing trumps usage to find out where and how you'll need to grow your skills. Read more ›

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This book serves its purpose December 30, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I see people bashing this book for not transforming someone, who knows nothing about UNIX (a "dummy"), into a UNIX Guru. Sheish I mean come on. ONE BOOK cant do that no matter what the reviews say. This book serves its purpose to aquaint a "dummy" to a new opperating system, UNIX. I don't recall this book claiming that it will turn the reader into an internet WHIZ this is a book about UNIX and thats what you will learn about. If you want to learn about the internet go buy a book on it! This book will teach you about the history of UNIX(an important thing to know whether you realize it or not) and about how to get your feet wet in the operating system. This book again is for "DUMMIES" NOT system administrators. If you know nothing about UNIX get this book. If you want to be a GURU or system administrater plan on buying a couple more books such as the UNIX Bible etc.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fabulous September 28, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I've been working on IBM mainframe systems for several years, and had to start working on UNIX. I got a copy of this book, and have never regretted it! Well layed out, informative, and genuinely useful. I still refer to it regularly, and colleagues 'borrow' it on a daily basis. The best work related book I've ever bought!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An very good introduction to using Unix. April 9, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book does not go into detail into Unix at all, and for that it has earned criticism shared by many of the Dummy books. Still, for those going into Unix from scratch, this is clearly one of the best choices available.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unix for Dummies, Isn't January 4, 1998

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

I am a Unix Systems Administrator. I found a copy of this book in one of my user's office several years ago and said "Unix for Dummies" now that's an oxymoron! But I looked through the book and fell in love with it. I had the user order me a copy through purchasing -- I didn't want anyone to see me buying a "Dummies" book. My dog-eared, bookmarked and highlighted copy still sits on top of my server for emergency referals to seldom used switches and commands in vi or grep. Unix concepts are explained in terms even USERS might understand and checklists and tables make it easy for veterans to find what they are looking for. If you work with Unix, get Amazon.com to find you a copy of this book. You won't regret it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to UNIX for any newbies. April 23, 2003

By Roland Grefer

Format:Paperback

John R. Levine provides a great introduction to UNIX, geared towards newcomers to this operating system. While anybody who has already spent a while working with UNIX, will probably consider the approach and contents of this book as too simplistic, it appears to be a perfect fit for those readers who need to or want to take their first steps in this great operating system.

Once the basic philosophy of UNIX has been communicated, and the reader has become familiar with the use of a wide variety of the standard commands, as well as the basic functionality of a few shell command interpreters, the reader is equipped with all the basics for jumping into the pool and paddling around.

Even though this title provides a great introduction for UNIX users, and will be sufficient to learn how to swim with the flow, it should by no means be considered a sufficient resource for the experienced and/or advanced UNIX user or system administrator.

For these latter groups there are a variety of other titles available that provide the desired depth. However, Levine's book is one of the very few that manages to address the very basics which quite often are omitted in other publications presumably aimed at the same target group.

Even though it will take an aspiring reader and UNIX user quite a while to get to level of understanding required to get the most out of the likes of "The Design of the UNIX Operating System" and "Design and Implementation of the BSD 4.4 Operating System", this book constitutes the first step for any newcomer towards achieving such a goal.