Linux and the Unix Philosophy 2nd Edition

by Mike Gancarz (Author)

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Editorial Reviews

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"The concept of Linux and the GNU project, while appearing to be the 'next step' of the Unix Philosophy, is only the return from a wayward path. Everything stated in the Unix Philosophy's first edition is just as true today, perhaps even more so. The addition of source code availability allows you to see exactly how these masters of code created their systems, and challenges you to create even faster code with greater capabilities." -Jon "maddog" Hall, Executive Director, Linux International

"By effectively linking the principles used in Unix with those used by the Linux development community, Gancarz sheds new light on the Open Source philosophy." -Henry L. Hall, CEO, Wild Open Source

Review

New edition of a bestseller

Book Description

New edition of a bestseller

From the Back Cover

"The concept of Linux and the GNU project, while appearing to be the 'next step' of the Unix Philosophy, is only the return from a wayward path. Everything stated in the Unix Philosophy's first edition is just as true today, perhaps even more so. The addition of source code availability allows you to see exactly how these masters of code created their systems, and challenges you to create even faster code with greater capabilities." -Jon "maddog" Hall, Executive Director, Linux International

"By effectively linking the principles used in Unix with those used by the Linux development community, Gancarz sheds new light on the Open Source philosophy." -Henry L. Hall, CEO, Wild Open Source

Unlike so many books that focus on how to use Linux, Linux and the Unix Philosophy explores the "way of thinking that is Linux" and why Linux is a superior implementation of this highly capable operating system.

This book is a revision and expansion of a computer science classic. Every chapter has been thoroughly updated with Linux coverage.

Linux and the Unix Philosophy falls squarely between the "softer" texts on iterative software design and project management and the "how-to" technical texts. Thus far, no one has come out with a book that addresses this topic, either in the Unix space or the Linux space. Linux and the Unix Philosophy covers the same ground as the first edition, while it also presents bold new ideas about Linux and Open Source.

· Concise list of philosophy tenets makes it a handy quick reference
· Anecdotal examples personalize the book for the reader
· Conversational style makes it easy and joyful to read|"The concept of Linux and the GNU project, while appearing to be the 'next step' of the Unix Philosophy, is only the return from a wayward path. Everything stated in the Unix Philosophy's first edition is just as true today, perhaps even more so. The addition of source code availability allows you to see exactly how these masters of code created their systems, and challenges you to create even faster code with greater capabilities." -Jon "maddog" Hall, Executive Director, Linux International

"By effectively linking the principles used in Unix with those used by the Linux development community, Gancarz sheds new light on the Open Source philosophy." -Henry L. Hall, CEO, Wild Open Source

Unlike so many books that focus on how to use Linux, Linux and the Unix Philosophy explores the "way of thinking that is Linux" and why Linux is a superior implementation of this highly capable operating system.

This book is a revision and expansion of a computer science classic. Every chapter has been thoroughly updated with Linux coverage.

Linux and the Unix Philosophy falls squarely between the "softer" texts on iterative software design and project management and the "how-to" technical texts. Thus far, no one has come out with a book that addresses this topic, either in the Unix space or the Linux space. Linux and the Unix Philosophy covers the same ground as the first edition, while it also presents bold new ideas about Linux and Open Source.

· Concise list of philosophy tenets makes it a handy quick reference
· Anecdotal examples personalize the book for the reader
· Conversational style makes it easy and joyful to read

About the Author

Mike Gancarz is an applications and programming consultant in Atlanta, Georgia. Using Linux, Unix, and Java tools, his team develops award-winning imaging solutions for the financial services industry. An expert in Unix application design, Mike has been an advocate of the Unix approach for more than twenty years. As a member of the team that gave birth to the X Window System, he pioneered usability concepts still found in modern window managers running on Linux today. While working at Digital Equipment Corporation's Unix Engineering Group in Nashua, New Hampshire, Mike led the port of the Unix commands and utilities to the 64-bit Alpha processor. His first book, The Unix Philosophy (Digital Press, 1995), has sold over 15,000 copies worldwide.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Digital Press; 2nd edition (August 5, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1555582737
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1555582739
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.9 x 0.56 x 9.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,508,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #172 in Computer Operating Systems Theory
- #222 in Linux Programming
- #429 in Unix Operating System

Customer Reviews:
14 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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James Bell

Learning Linux is an incredible intelligent investment

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2008

Verified Purchase

If you're considering purchasing this book - let me make this easy. At sixteen years old (1986) I was using DOS with my younger brother on an IBM PC. All I got were beeps and control characters. I had no mentors that understood DOS better than me. Unix had been cooking for 16 years! Why couldn't Unix have been ported to the PC? Fast forward ten years and I had a Bachelor's in Computer Information Systems and I earned a living using MVS/JCL/COBOL II/DB2/CICS/ROSCOE/FILEAID. It took me days to slice and dice text files with JCL/FILEAID - it was like using a screw driver to remove nails. I still remember these JCL and Fileaid syntax. Unix would have made these tasks child's play. Today, my JCL and Fileaid syntax knowledge is worthless. If I'd learned grep awk instead - my skillset would be highly prized for the foreseeable future! In short, learning Unix/Linux syntax is an awesome investment. Why? In case you didn't know Unix/Linux will be going strong when your children's children are dead! This book actually made me sad. Sad that I was 37 years old before I encountered a Mike Gancarz's book that tells the Unix/Linux narrative. If only I'd gotten the message sooner when my mind was a sponge - I'd be so much farther along today! So here goes. If you're an old fart - maybe you should forget Linux - keep paying Microsoft a small fortune to re-badge their OS every 5-7 years. This book will make you see things from a brotherhood perspective. Your brothers want you to use their OS free. Yeah I want more Linux games too. Give them time. But in the mean time invest some time in learning the command line. I swear to you that Linux is logical, and even approachable, regardless how cryptic the command-line flags look at first. Every minute you invest in learning Linux can be passed-on to your kids, grandkids, & so on. Linux is eternal. This book tells you nothing of the syntax but you'll learn the Unix/Linux mindset. I skimmed at parts, but this is a necessary first step. This is where you should start your journey to learn Linux. I share your pain. Chin up - we're in this together.

9 people found this helpful

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Jesse Adelman

I love it, but I'm having a hard time squaring ...

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

I love it, but I'm having a hard time squaring the shift from Linux/Unix to Java/JVM as a 'fellow traveller'. In my experience, the two are not well matched, at least from an administrative point of view. The abstraction of the JVM is a distraction in Linux. However, the enthusiasm shown here is quite enlivening! :) The Java/JVM subject seems like a bolted-on tangent, and detracts from the overall read.

One person found this helpful

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C. V. Karayiannis

Gancarz is a philosopher

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2003

Verified Purchase

* * * * *
Five stars for "Linux and the Unix Philosophy" because foremost it is an excellent discussion of the importance of the Open Source revolution.
Also, what this text does is not to repeat the basic Unix design's principles e.g. 'everything in Unix is a file' e.t.c., but instead it focuses in some inspiring and innovative approaches to software engineering, mostly applied in the GNU/Linux world.
It finaly proves in many ways the superiority of GNU/Linux - and Unix in general - in contrast to the other "desktop" systems.
One thing I enjoyed the most is the parallelism between some Unix tenets and corresponding real life examples. Having read a lot of texts about Unix and Open Source Software I deeply recommend this book.

8 people found this helpful

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Curious

The work does not intend to do more than explain ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

The work does not intend to do more than explain the reason to prefer and to work in a Unix/Linux setting.
The text is well written and conveys its points well.

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2019

Good condition

Unbelivable fantastic

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2013

Verified Purchase

This must be the best computer book I have ever read.
It's pure Zen.

It made me a better programmer FOR SURE.

I went from a messy Java-SILO-wannabe-OS coding style to an 100% bash/scripting revitalized REAL life

Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2015

Amazing book

Everyone is on a learning curve

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2009

The author was a programmer before, so in writing this book, he draw both from his personal experience and his observation to depict the software world.

I think this is more of a practice and opinion book rather than "Philosophy" book, however I have to agree with him in most cases.

For example, here is Mike Gancarz's line of thinking:

1. Hard to get the s/w design right at the first place, no matter who.
2. So it's better to write a short specs without considering all factors first.
3. Build a prototype to test the assumptions
4. Use an iterative test/rewrite process until you get it right
5. Conclusion: Unix evolved from a prototype.

In case you are curious, here are the 9 tenets of Unix/Linux:

1. Small is beautiful.
2. Make each program do one thing well.
3. Build a prototype as soon as possible.
4. Choose portability over efficiency.
5. Store data in flat text files.
6. Use software leverage to your advantage.
7. Use shell scripts to increase leverage and portability.
8. Avoid captive user interfaces.
9. Make every program a filter.

Mike Gancarz told a story like this when he argues "Good programmers write good code; great programmers borrow good code".

"I recall a less-than-top-notch software engineer who couldn't program his way out of a paper bag. He had a knack, however, for knitting lots of little modules together. He hardly ever wrote any of them himself, though. He would just fish around in the system's directories and source code repositories all day long, sniffing for routines he could string together to make a complete program. Heaven forbid that he should have to write any code. Oddly enough, it wasn't long before management recognized him as an outstanding software engineer, someone who could deliver projects on time and within budget. Most of his peers never realized that he had difficulty writing even a rudimentary sort routine. Nevertheless, he became enormously successful by simply using whatever resources were available to him."

If this is not clear enough, Mike also drew analogies between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and Elvis. The book is full of inspiring stories to reveal software engineers' tendencies and to correct their mindsets.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

harlandski

Thought-provoking and inspiring, but dated and expensive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

First the good news:

- An interesting insight into the origins of Unix and Linux, and the common ideas which join the two.
- His core ideas ('tenets of the Unix philosophy') really helped me to see why Linux is the way it is, especially at the command line.
- He writes with an infectious enthusiasm, and I do feel challenged to change the way I write my humble shell scripts from now on, as I can see the benefits of the approaches he describes.

Now the not-so-good:

- Much of the book seems like a barely updated version of the author's original book (The Unix Philosophy, 1994). This is confirmed by a comparison of the Kindle samples of the two books, with many passages repeated verbatim.
- Most of the examples which support the author's thesis are really dated now (e.g. the Atari 800). Some glaring anachronisms have been overlooked in the revision process, for example fax machines gaining wide acceptance at present! Although the last chapters bring his ideas into the 21st century, I feel it would have been better to have more current examples throughout the book.
- The price tag is very heavy (GBP 25.64 when I bought it), which seems somewhat ironic for an electronic book from a self-proclaimed champion of open-source software.

One person found this helpful

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Linux and the Unix Philosophy 2nd Edition

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Review

Book Description

From the Back Cover

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

About the author

Mike Gancarz

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Buy used:

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