UNIX in a Nutshell: System V Edition: A Desktop Quick Reference for System V Release 4 and Solaris 2.0 (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

You may have seen UNIX quick-reference guides, but you've never seen anything like UNIX in a Nutshell. Not a scaled-down quick reference of common commands, UNIX in a Nutshell is a complete reference containing all commands and options, along with generous descriptions and examples that put the commands in context. For all but the thorniest UNIX problems, this one reference should be all the documentation you need. The second edition of UNIX in a Nutshell thoroughly covers System V Release 3, including commands that were added to Release 4 and additional commands that were added to Solaris 2.0. If you currently use either SVR3 or SVR4 or are planning to in the future, or if you're a Sun user facing the transition to Solaris, you'll want this book. UNIX in a Nutshell is the most comprehensive quickref on the market, a must for any UNIX user.

Simply the best System V and Solaris reference on the market today, Unix in a Nutshell won't steer you wrong. The book's concise style delivers the essential information on Unix, shell, and utility commands. Its command documentation is clear and complete and its examples are relevant and easy to follow.

Gilly starts with a complete, alphabetized listing of core Unix commands. Each entry includes a syntax summary, a clear statement of what the command does, and a full list of options, each with commentary on its function. The author then covers shell documentation, supplying details on the Bourne, Korn, and C shells and documenting each shell's commands in the standard format. Gilly also includes a section on regular expressions as they apply to grep, egrep, text editors, and various scripting languages.

Next, the book offers complete documentation of Emacs, ex, and vi, the powerful editors whose command structure proves perennially difficult to learn. The commands, once again, appear alphabetically with statements of their respective purposes. Other popular utilities--sed, awk, nroff, troff, tbl, and several macro languages--follow. Code managers SCCS and RCS, rarely documented in Unix books, bring up the rear.

Users need to know what they're looking up or they won't find this book useful. Otherwise, Unix in a Nutshell's documentation is the best. --David Wall