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Jon Lasser
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Think UNIX 1st Edition

by Jon Lasser (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
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Unix has a reputation for being cryptic and difficult to learn, but it doesn't need to be that way. Think Unix takes an analogous approach to that of a grammar book. Rather than teaching individual words or phrases like most books, Think Unix teaches the set of logical structures to be learned. Myriad examples help you learn individual commands, and practice problems at the end of difficult sections help you learn the practical side of Unix. Strong attention is paid to learning how to read "man pages," the standard documentation on all Unix systems, including Linux. While most books simply tell you that man pages exist and spend some time teaching how to use the man command, none spend any significant amount of space teaching how to use the content of the man pages. Even if you are lost at the Unix command prompt, you can learn subsystems that are specific to the Unix flavor.

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  1. ISBN-10
    078972376X
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0789723765
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Que Publishing
  5. Publication date
    July 7, 2000
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7.3 x 0.68 x 9 inches
  8. Print length
    300 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The many variants of the Unix operating system require use of a mode of thought that's significantly different from the one that's required by simpler operating systems. Think Unix introduces readers to important fundamental and intermediate Unix commands and, in the process, inculcates them in the Unix way of thinking. It's a worthy goal in a world with more Linux users than ever, and author Jon Lasser accomplishes it. He's both a capable writer and a knowledgeable user of Unix shell commands. Lasser uses bash under Red Hat Linux in most examples--which usually apply equally well to other Unix variants--and makes asides about other shells and environments, as needed.

Like Unix itself, this book is highly literate, and rewards those who are willing to read through explanations of the command strings that pepper the paragraphs. The best strategy is to read this book from cover to cover, imagining that you're sitting through a seminar. You might know about some of the topics that are presented, but it's likely that something in every chapter will improve the depth of your Unix knowledge. A helpful pedagogical trick: Lasser has included practice problems here and there. A typical one: "Display the string 'Today's date is:,' followed by today's date." You should be able to solve these by reading the examples carefully, but you'll find solutions in the back of the book, in case you need them. This is a great book for Unix beginners. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Unix operating system and its peculiar way of allowing users to string commands together in powerful, flexible sequences. Commands and techniques are explored that have to do with files, processes, piping, shell commands, shell scripting, and the essentials of the X windowing system.

From the Author

I had to write this book: I tried not to, but there was no getting around it. Most introductions to Unix stink --- they're like phrasebooks and contain commands that you are obligated to memorize and repeat without any deep understanding.

Think Unix is like a language textbook: you learn some vocabulary (ie, individual commands), but (more importantly) you learn how to put it all together to do new things on your own.

Think Unix teaches you how to teach yourself: the first chapter teaches how to read and where to find the right documentation. Most computer people think everyone is born knowing how to interpret documentation, but it is a learned skill, though rarely taught.

If it's not obvious, I'm very excited by this approach. If it excites you too, then this is probably the Unix book for you. It assumes no prior Unix experience; if you're the sort of person who clicks through the menus in your word processor to find the feature that you want, if you sometimes click on something just to find out what it does, this is the book for you.

There's stuff in here for Unix experts too, but it's not a book about system administration. It's a book for new users who want to understand what's going on, why things work the way they do, and how to get the most out of the system: it's for readers who want to learn to Think Unix.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Que Publishing; 1st edition (July 7, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 300 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 078972376X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0789723765
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.3 x 0.68 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

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Jon Lasser

Jon Lasser

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Jon Lasser lives and writes in Seattle, Washington with his wife Laura and their two children. Although he's been writing since he was six, and has long been a published author of technical nonfiction, he's focused on speculative fiction for the last several years—ever since his wife told him to "put up or shut up" and take writing seriously.

When not writing, working in technology, or taking care of his family, Jon scuba dives. He prefers the Northwest's cold-water diving, but won't turn down a free trip to Hawaii or Bonaire if offered.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ray Ma
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource to Dip Your Toes into Unix
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2013
Verified Purchase
There is a reason Jon Lasser's "Think UNIX" has been touted as one of the best resources for Unix. The book written is written in an easily accessible way, but it also packs some serious albeit brief technical knowledge. The book starts out non-technical and delves into the technical content without losing touch with the non-technical readers. Also, the humorous interjections here and there keep the book manageable and enjoyable. This is a must have for all programmers out there, and it is also a great resource for beginners to learn Unix.
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Castmart
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelllent book
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2011
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An excellent book for people who want to learn the advantages of using the command line. It gives you a simple but powerfull point of view of how unix handles processes and files without being boring. It is a book I recommend as introducción to the unix OS and as a quick reference for the intermediate level user.
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Sheefeni Ruben Hauwanga
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad place to start.
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2009
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Clever and short. The book is quick to read and it doesn't bury the reader in a large number of esoteric commands. Admittedly there is bias: bash and ksh over tcsh, and vi over Emacs, but that's mainly due to the authors own preference and he admits that in the book. The only issue is that the book is old, but it's still a great reference for those new to UNIX. If that includes you, buy this book, you won't regret it.
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C. L.
2.0 out of 5 stars Where is the beef?
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2002
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I don't understand why this book's rating is so high. On the back of the book it says the user level is intermediate-advanced. I think this book is for new users who have never used UNIX only. Also I feel the title is misleading. The design model is not explained well throughout the book and the author does not teach you how to think UNIX.
One person found this helpful
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Bryan Kouri
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2016
Im a long time user of multiple variant of Unix, this is one of the very few book that teach how to cook instead of giving you a few recipes. Once one understand the philosophy behind Unix, it all get so simple, this book help you cross that bridge.
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stk
5.0 out of 5 stars An apt introduction to Unix.
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2012
This not-too-lengthy book serves as an excellent introduction to basic Unix concepts. I felt like i was gathering important concepts, expertly explained by the author, including several chapters on working with files, editors, the command line and shells/shell-scripting. Of course, there's comprehensive explanations of other Unix commands, networking, utilities and features including X Windows. There's even an errata site [...] where small corrections have been made. With this broad coverage and the errata site, the book offers the reader a continuous read without jumping around. Highly recommended.
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Edward J. Hyer
5.0 out of 5 stars not a life-saver, but surely a life-improver
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2000
The reason I cannot call Mr. Lasser's book a "life-saver" is because I would not have perished from the Earth without it. Indeed, I probably would have figured almost all of the stuff in this book out, given six or seven years. But you gotta ask yourself, "at what cost?" In hair torn out (it's leaving fast enough, isn't it?), in hyperventilation (save that for the gym), in premature aging.
This book is not for Dummies. This book works best with people, as I may have indicated above, who Would Have Figured It Out by themselves. But while you may pretend to enjoy a rugged hike through the steeper parts of the learning curve, Mr. Lasser's book is like strapping on a jet-pack.
The book is conversational, sometimes funny (though it helps if you spend a lot of your time in front of computers), and extremely direct. If you are just curious about what this Unix thing might be good for, read the book slowly, learn a lot, and gain a solid foundation for becoming the captain of your computing destiny. If you have something you need to get done, read it quickly, learn-- well, a lot, and get where you're going in a hurry.
One caution: this book does expect that you will read it. It is not a ready reference, it is not designed for index-backward utilization. It is a short course in the skeletal framework of Unix, and not a hypertext instruction manual. If you are unaccustomed to reading as it was practiced before computer self-help books arrived to chaff the bookstores of our nation, you will not derive the maximum benefit from this book.
I recommend this book to (prospective) users of unix systems who take pleasure in reading, and need to learn a great deal very quickly.
28 people found this helpful
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"wesley@panix.com"
5.0 out of 5 stars Unix from the inside looking out
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2000
Funny, unorthodox, well organized, this book is a great survey of the unix family of OSes, useful both for newcomers to the system with basic computing familiarity & for those who (like me) have used & learned unix haphazardly for years.
The first chapter, rather than teaching you frequently-used commands & their options, describes how to find & decipher documentation! The heart (or possibly the lymphatic system) of unix is figuring stuff out for yourself --not an easy matter if you don't know how to find out what you want to know or interpret what you've found. If you've ever stared at a man page, wondering what was wrong with your brain that you couldn't understand a word of something so detailed & apparently written in English, this book is for you!
Subsequent chapters describe files (everything in unix is a file), processes, redirection & pipes, networking, regular expressions, shells, etc. --a holistic overview of unix as a complete system.
9 people found this helpful
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S. Leibelt
5.0 out of 5 stars Nichts für Unix Anfänger, aber auch längjährige Nutzer können noch etwas lernen
Reviewed in Germany on February 3, 2013
Verified Purchase
Der Autor weiß wie man den Leser bei Laune hält. Er verdichtet auf wenige Seiten sehr viel Wissen und dazu noch sehr anschaulich. Ich genieße es, das Buch zu lesen und hier und da einige unentdeckte Wissenslücken aufzufüllen.
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