Sams Teach Yourself Linux Programming in 24 Hours (Paperback)

by Warren Gay (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Sams Teach Yourself Linux Programming in 24 Hours provides a digestible introduction to creating Linux system utilities in the C programming language for the beginning or intermediate C programmer. Written by author Warren W. Gay, whose own code is part of today's Linux, this guide provides just enough nitty-gritty detail in 24 easy-to-follow lessons.

The best part of the book is the author's common-sense approach to writing usable system utilities. A single example, for a Unix to DOS text converter, is used in the first few lessons. First he shows you how to build C programs using the GNU C compiler. From this simple start, Gay adds necessary features, like command-line processing. His guide to debugging and tracing code is also good.

As most readers know, Linux is built on small, discrete utilities built by programmers around the world. This book can help get you started understanding and using the Linux open source and even teach you how to create your own utilities. (To get you started, a copy of Linux Red Hat 5.2 is included on the companion CD-ROM.)

Later chapters add depth to programmable elements, with coverage of such topics as string and file handling, and several chapters devoted to multitasking issues, such as forking and IPC mechanisms. (Here, a simple Battleship-type game is used to illustrate programs that share data.) For a client/server demonstration, the book looks at the Tiny Query Server (and TQL) to show how client and server modules can work together.

In all, this text makes a good first choice for the beginning C programmer seeking an introduction to the world of Linux development. There are other more technical books available, but they can often lose the novice reader in needless detail. Sams Teach Yourself Linux Programming in 24 Hours will be valuable to anyone who wants an approachable guide to the exciting possibilities of today's Linux. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Linux system programming in C, GNU C compiler, environment variables, debugging, forking, strings, file I/O, IPC, client/server, Tiny Query Server, and TQL.

Product Description
Sams Teach Yourself Linux Programming in 24 Hours is a tutorial, organized into a series of easy-to-follow, 1-hour lessons. The book focuses on C, the fundamental language of Linux, throughout the lessons. You will learn: Linux, compilers and GNU, how to code a Linux Utility, Modular programming in "C", how to make files, Linux Command Option Processing, Linux filter programs, Error handling and reporting, Useful debugging techniques, Static and Shared Libraries, Advanced String functions, Conversion Functions, and Pipes and Processes.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 526 pages
• Publisher: Sams (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672315823
• ISBN-13: 978-0672315824
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,240,869 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps, you need..., May 7, 2002

By	Loc Le (Escondido, California United States) - See all my reviews

If you new to Linux, perhaps you need other books to check for small some details which are not mentioned by the author. For example, if you want to use "core dump" at beginning of the book, you need to edit the .bashrc file first because by defaut setup it will not "dump" at all. Also, when you reach to hour 5, you should be careful to use tab instead of spaces in the beginning of the lines containing with commands. I can find the answers for all of this in "Running Linux" by Matt Welsh. Good luck!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book should have been called Unix GNU programming in C!, August 30, 2001

By	Martin Stadtler "mstadtler" (Rockvillem, Maryland) - See all my reviews

I have looked for a book like this for quite some time. Every Linux Programming book I have seen so far tries to give me the whole kitchen sink. They cover databases to scripting to GUI. Thats exactly not what I want. I tend not to look at the 24hrs book's as they usually don't cover enough ground. Not this one! Warren Gay has done a superb job of covering the essential programming steps required to do succesful GNU/Unix programming (I used Solaris not Linux). If you are already familier with the C language then this is the road map to doing it right, the unix way. Revision control, makefiles, debugging, forks, pipes and unix permissions to name a few of the subjects are covered in a clear and easly understood method. Granted there are other books that cover C more in depth, then again I already have them. Kudos to you Warren Gay, I can hardly wait for your next one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You have to know C., August 14, 1999

By A Customer

A great book, lots of examples. My favorite was the battleship game. Like I said in the one line summary, you have to know C. I reccomend shildts(sp?) book, "Teach yourself C". This is not a in 24 hours book, but still good.