Linux Programmer's Reference (Paperback)

by Richard Petersen (Author), Richard Peterson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
This handy-sized volume is an excellent reference and a superb companion to Linux: The Complete Reference, Third Edition, also by Petersen. -- Elizabeth Zinkann, Sys Admin Magazine, June 2000 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Author is a recognized Linux expert--PC Magazine calls Peterson "an impressive technical writer." Contains alphabetical reference of every major Linux command, syntax, description, and example. Provides time-saving insight as to when a certain command is better used over another. Efficiently covers the various Linux programmilng shells--BASH (standard, easy-to-use commands, TCSH (syntax similar to C, more of a traditional structure), and the Z shell (incorporates features of other two shells with better support for functions).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 303 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill Osborne Media (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0078825873
• ISBN-13: 978-0078825873
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,439,399 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A litte clarification..., January 22, 2000

By	Patrick Roberts (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Linux Programmer's Reference (Paperback)

The title of this book isn't exacly clear as to what it contains as the text, title, and summary use 'programming' to refer to both C/C++ programming and scripting. It has a some sections on using gcc, gdb, and make, but the first 157 pages are a reference to unix CLI syntax and shell commands (like "Unix in a Nutshell"). It would probably be good for a programmer who has never worked with Unix before. I was hoping for more of a "Linux Programmers" reference that covered Linux-specific nuances, libraries and devices, rather than a "Linux for Programmers" that shows how to use a shell and what the command line arguments are for gcc, etc... I guess the bottom line is it's not about programming, it's about scripting and the basic Linux/Unix tools that a programmer would use.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The title say it all., February 14, 1999

By A Customer

The title of this book does not mask the contents at all, it is a reference for programmers who use the Linux operating system. It does not "dumb-down" the material in order to make it more approachable to the new user or concern itself with unrelated issues. It is a reference, if you have a dumb programming related question, you get a clear and concise answer without having to search countless pages or read grandiose prose that serves no purpose.

The book seems divided into two parts. The first few chapters involve the various shells and the creation and executing of shell scripts, including a description of all of the programming related commands for that shell, the syntax, usage, and examples where necessary. The last few chapters concern the compiling, debugging, and packaging of C and C++ programs under Linux. Readers without any knowledge of C will not find it very useful. There is also an appendix with Perl and Tcl/Tk scripting language commands and TeX/LaTeX commands.

Experienced Unix users who are migrating to Linux can certainly make use of this book, it includes a lot of Linux specific information, especially on critical gcc compiler and library issues. There are also sections covering the Make utility, Rpm creation and Man page writing which really round out the other information in the book. The appendixes are simple lists of commands and do not reflect the rest of the content.

New Linux users may also find the book informative even if just for the lists of shell commands. If you are new to Linux and don't write programs at least here is a good reference to what all of those programming tools on your Linux system actually do and why they are important.

Personally I try to take good care of my books and keep then in good condition, unfortunately my copy of Linux Programmer's Reference is starting to look like I've owned it for years not weeks, I refer to it far more that I expected to.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good if you know your programming but are new to Linux., August 27, 1998

By A Customer

If you already know the basics of programming (or even a little more than that), you're looking at Linux and you're a little confused about how it all goes together, this book does a pretty good job of explaining things, and it seems to be a good reference.

Example - I knew there were 'a.out' systems and 'ELF' systems, but I was a little confused when my Red Hat box started spitting out files named 'a.out' - this book explains the situation.

Before you read this you'd want to know what a shell is, and that there are several kinds of shell, and so on. You'd want to have a fair grasp of C and programming fundamentals (the shared library examples dive straight in with function pointers for example). You would also need to know your way around a Unix system before coming near the book, it's not going to help you in that area. IMHO that's a good thing, it cuts straight to the chase with the content.

In style, the book is _very_ concise. You'll need to read each page a couple of times to get the juice out. Occasionally it's too concise - it covers RCS (revision control system) and the 'ci' and 'co' commands without ever noting that they stand for 'check-in' and 'check-out', a concept that surely makes RCS easier to understand.

The examples that run through the book generally seem well structured and are able to be typed in and run on your machine as you read.

Overall I found this to be useful - it cleared up a LOT of dumb questions that I had. I'd like to have seen more on scripting languages than the appendices listing commands in Perl and Tcl/Tk. If a solid chapter on scripting languages was there instead of the two appendices, this would be a great book. As it is, it's still good. Well written, concise and it covers the ground. It'll do me!