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The second edition of Unix Shells by Examples shows off basic commands and utilities in the three most popular Unix shells--C, Bourne, and Korn--with side-by-side examples. The new edition of this book is sure to be a worthy reference for Unix programmers for getting around their favorite shell.

The best thing in this new edition is that the author presents short, effective examples of using basic commands and utilities for each of the three major Unix shells. This comparative approach means that you can use this book on different flavors of Unix and even migrate scripts between different shells. For each shell, the author provides fundamentals, like accessing profiles, command-line histories, and shell programming. "Lab sections" let you develop your skills with short, hands-on exercises for each shell. As in the earlier edition, the author's short examples show you how to perform basic tasks quickly with common switches and options.

Other sections here cover three major Unix utilities: grep (for searching), sed (for editing), and awk (for scripting and reporting). (The reference and tutorial on AWK programming is a notable feature here. There is also good coverage of regular expressions.)

Instead of hunting down information in countless man pages, this book will save you valuable time every day with its efficient format and comparative approach--truly useful features for the beginning and intermediate Unix user. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: C, Bourne, and Korn Unix shells; grep, sed, and awk utilities; regular expressions; and shell programming. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

The best Unix Shell book I've ever read!
If want to learn about shells and you learn by example, like I do, this book is essential.

The first 6 chapters (nearly 200 pages) goes over the basics of all shells; what they are, what they do, what programs are most used to manipulate data in them. There are whole chapters devoted to grep, sed and awk, and the author doesn't skimp on details. You will be a virtual grep/sed/awk guru by the time you learn everything in these chapters.

Chapters 7-15 introduce and get you into scripting of each major shell: Bourne shell, C and TC Shells, Korn shell, and Bash (bash is the standard shell in most linux distributions). It then spends a chapter on general debugging shell scripting problems.

The last chapters touch upon system administrating via the shell (rather than using gui tools). Again taught by example so it's very clear to the reader.

I learned more about bash (my shell of choice) from this guide than any other that I've read, and not for lack of trying, I've read several bash guides. I was happy to see that examples given were explained line-by-line so you don't lose track of what is happening in each example. I was delighted by the useful appendices covering useful commands and giving side by side shell comparisons.

This is my favorite shell book to date.

Excellent single volume coverage of the shell options...
(This is a review of the 4th edition)

As I start playing around more with Linux, I'd like to get into some shell programming.After reviewing Unix Shells By Example (4th Edition) by Ellie Quigley (Prentice-Hall), I think I've found the book I need to get started.

Chapter List:Introduction to UNIX/Linux Shells; Shell Programming QuickStart; Regular Expressions and Pattern Matching; The grep Family; sed, The Streamlined Editor; The awk Utility; The Interactive Bourne Shell; Programming The Bourne Shell; The Interactive C And TC Shells; Programming The C And TC Shells; The Interactive Korn Shell; Programming The Korn Shell; The Interactive Bash Shell; Programming The Bash Shell; Debugging Shell Scripts; The System Administrator And The Shell; Useful UNIX/Linux Utilities For Shell Programmers; Comparison Of The Shells; Index

I know that there are a number of different shell scripting platforms, but I really don't know enough to understand what is different between them.In a single book, Quigley covers all the options so I can start to make some decisions about what direction I'd like to go in.And regardless of whatever choice that might be, she covers all the different platforms in equal depth so I don't have to go out and buy another book to get started.Each chapter is filled with a number of examples, immediately followed by an explanation of how the example works.So not only do you have the benefit of reference material on how something like the grep utility works, but you also have the benefit of seeing working examples in order to translate theory into practical knowledge.Her style of writing is clear and concise, and I really think that with a little time on my part, this book will take me well down the road to where I want to be.

An excellent choice if you're looking to get into command line scripting of your UNIX or Linux systems...

Excellent examples demonstrate important concepts.
I've been a unix sysadmin for over 5 years and am learning lots from this book. The author has a knack of teaching by providing examples that show exactly how a command / process works without jargon or oversimplification. I'm clearly understanding things (like regular expressions) that I frequently used casually, but didn't know exactly how they worked and why they sometimes didn't.
Highly recommended for a range of experience levels! ... Read more

Isbn: 013066538X
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Operating Systems 2. Computer Books And Software 3. Computers 4. Operating Systems - UNIX 5. Programming - General 6. UNIX (Computer file) 7. UNIX Shells 8. Unix (Operating System)

Linux Shells by Example (with CD-ROM)
by Ellie Quigley
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (15 June, 2000)
list price: $44.99
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Editorial Review

In both Linux and Unix, becoming proficient at using shell scripts is anessential skill for both programmers and administrators. Filled with numerousexercises and examples, Ellie Quigley's Linux Shells by Example providesa comprehensive tutorial to two of the most popular Linux shells: the BourneAgain shell (bash) and the TC shell (tcsh). For any Linux user,this title is all you need to bring your shell-programming skills up tospeed.

This book opens with a tour of the history and function of traditional Unixshells (from Bourne, C, and Korn shells) before centering on Linux variants, bash and tcsh. The text then turns to three powerful utilities:grep (for file searching), sed (for noninteractive file editing),and gawk (which allows programmers to write powerful scripts that processfiles using regular expressions).

There are dozens of sample commands to try out here. (With shell programming,the genius is truly in the details, and the only way to learn the shell is totry it out for yourself.) As an experienced teacher, the author provides awealth of examples that take you through both the common and more esotericfeatures of these utilities. Instead of hard-to-decipher man pages, thereshe includes dozens of sample commands with correct syntax, plus clearexplanations.

The rest of this book looks at the bash and tcsh shells in detail,from interactive mode to shell programming with full coverage of the basics ofwriting reusable scripts. Final sections of Linux Shells by Example lookat common Linux file and system commands for easy reference, and the book endswith a useful appendix on quoting styles for five different shells. In all, thisbook's clear presentation style and plentiful examples will help any Linux userbecome a competent shell user and script programmer. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Survey of Unix shells (the Bourne, C, and Korn shells),survey of Linux shells (the Bourne Again and TC shells), processes, shellenvironments, tutorial for regular expressions, grep for file searches,the streamlined editor (sed), awk/nawk/gawk scripts, gawkbasics and expressions, gawk programming (variables, arrays, flowcontrol, built-in and user-defined functions), the bash and tcshshells (interactive mode, programming tutorial for shell scripts), reference tocommon Linux/Unix utilities, comparison of shells, and tips for using correctquoting styles within shells. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Don't think twice, just get it.
New to 'nix? You need to learn the shell to become comfortable and proficient with the OS. There is no better book for the serious beginner/intermediate self-motivated learner. Ellie Quigley is a superb instructor and writer.

Excellent Book
I just started this book but have thumbed through all the chapters. The author is a very good writer and seems to be passionate about the subject unlike some of the authors that write dry tombs for O'Reilly. However, "Unix Power Tools", O'Reilly is not a dry tomb.

Anyway, better know your way around linux before you get this book even though it starts very basic. This is a huge book, 761 pages. Great info...

This book will make your life easier
I found this book very easy to understand, but if you are looking for something more advance, this is not for you. The style of writing in this book is very easy to follow. Like what is written on the title, it has lots of examples, and an explanation always comes after the example. It is not only about shell, this book also has good basic knowledge and information about grep, sed, and awk. If you use Linux, and want to learn shell programming, get this book. I also found that the examples used in this book were very close to the real life problems we often meet in Linux.

The only reason that I rate only 4 stars for this book is because some similar part gets repeated too often in this book. ... Read more

Isbn: 0130147117
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Operating Systems 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computers 4. Linux 5. Operating Systems - Linux 6. Operating Systems - UNIX 7. Operating systems (Computers) 8. Unix (Operating System)

Mastering UNIX Shell Scripting
by Randal K. Michael
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (31 January, 2003)
list price: $45.00 -- our price: $29.70
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Reviews (8)

Excellent Book...
This is one of the best books on Unix shell scripting I have ever read. I immediately put a few of the scripts to work in our Solaris production environment. Be warned though; this book focuses entirely on the Korn shell. If you plan to write scripts using the Bourne, BASH, or C-shell you should find another book.

A must-have for all levels of *nix users.
The breadth of real-world examples make the difference between this book and most reference texts.It's true that it's written for korn, but I've had little trouble adapting for Bash; many of the scripts run almost unchanged and the ones that don't provide a useful opportunity for exercise in adaptation.The authors prose is clear.His attitude is a bit challenging; he says early on that that his intention is to teach you how to -solve problems- by shell scripting, NOT to present a ream of canned solutions. This is NOT a reference text for any particular shell, you'll still need plenty of O'Reilly books, a web browser & etc.

This book has enabled me to write a major project using scripting as the glue to hold together a hefty mass of file-moving daemons, fax/paging engines, python UI code, PostGreSQL database engine, networking/email, SSH, and Expect scripts on a Gnu Linux platform.I absolutely could not have done it without this book and I'm very grateful to Mr Michael for his work.If a later edition could more closely serve the needs of the masses by presenting more Bash examples and maybe throwing in a CD it would be a 5-star text.

The best in the shelf
Mastering UNIX Shell Scripting is a must for all Unix Administrator. The beauty of this book is it teaches shell script with practical examples which are required in day to day life of a System Admin. Unlike many shell scripting book it just not talks about syntax but also explains whats happening behind the curtain.
Inspite of all praises the reason for giving 4 stars is due to the fact that its not meant for beginners. For serious shell script writers this bookdeserve 5 star rating ... Read more

Isbn: 0471218219
Sales Rank: 30116
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Operating Systems 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computers 4. Operating Systems - UNIX 5. Programming - Software Development 6. UNIX (Computer file) 7. UNIX Shells 8. Unix (Operating System) 9. Computer Communications & Networking 10. Computer Programming 11. Computers / Programming / Software Development 12. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK

$29.70

Learning the bash Shell, 2nd Edition
by Cameron Newham, Bill Rosenblatt
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (02 January, 1998)
list price: $29.95
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Reviews (22)

simple subject
[A review of the THIRD EDITION 2005.]

In the last 10 years, it appears that the shell wars in unix and linux have settled down. With bash being the clear favourite. So if you are going to invest your time learning any shell, perhaps you should go with bash and maybe use this book as a helper. It shows that script writing in bash is pretty simple. If you already know another shell, like csh or Korn, then the ideas carry over and so too would most of the syntax.

Along the way, the book teaches you more about your operating system. Especially for managing processes/jobs.

My background is as a programmer, so I've never been big on shells and their scripting. But others like you may hark from a sysadmin role and prefer shell activity.

Great Shell script book
The best book I have ever read on the subject.
The only think I could think to complain about is that
sometimes it was a little hard to follow.
I still give five stars, because the teaching style is great.
a little history, some basic commands, and into shell programing. When you finish the book you will know a lot about how the shell works, Job control and so on.
Also great for linux newbies, But I recamend reading sam`s teach yourself unix in 24 hours first, you will get a good basic understanding of the command line.

Most disappointing O'Reilly book I've bought
The authors spend so much space on extended examples that they make the basics difficult to find.The odd appearance of conditionals is, for instance, the most surprising thing about bash, at least for csh users; their explanation of it is separated by several pages from the main discussion. ... Read more

Isbn: 1565923472
Sales Rank: 31372
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Operating Systems 2. Computer Books: Operating Systems 3. Computers 4. Operating Systems - Macintosh 5. Operating Systems - UNIX 6. UNIX (Computer file) 7. UNIX shells 8. Unix (Operating System) 9. User interfaces (Computer syst 10. User interfaces (Computer systems) 11. COM070000 12. Computers / Operating Systems / General 13. Internet 14. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK

Unix Power Tools, Third Edition
by Shelley Powers, Jerry Peek, Tim O'Reilly, Mike Loukides
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (01 October, 2002)
list price: $69.95 -- our price: $46.17
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Editorial Review

The mark of a craftsman is his familiarity with his tools, the speed with which he can use them to solve simple problems, and his cleverness in using them to solve more complicated challenges. The latest edition of Unix Power Tools explores the standard Unix tools in greater depth than ever, and with better coverage of Linux, FreeBSD, and even the Darwin environment of Mac OS X. It's also been improved by the addition of sections on Perl and Python, programming languages that can often solve Unix problems more adeptly than any specific utility. This detail-filled book distinguishes itself from other guides for Unix gurus with its organizational structure (it's a series of articles that can be absorbed sequentially or individually) and carefully designed and executed index. Like its esteemed predecessors, this book is one you will keep handy.

The authors have achieved a nearly ideal balance in the pages of this book. It's not just a collection of recipes (such collections tend to leave you hanging if you want to do something a little differently), it's not just a book of documentation (books like that have application mainly as references for people who know a lot already), and it's not just a conceptual how-to guide. Unix Power Tools is all of those things, and the overall effect is impressive indeed. If you work with any flavor of Unix, whatever your level of experience, you will benefit by having this book. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to work efficiently, elegantly, and creatively with the Unix tool suite, as well as (to a lesser extent) with Perl and Python scripts. Tips and strategies on customization, document generation, process management, and networking abound in this wisdom-rich volume. ... Read more

Reviews (56)

the most tattered book on my shelf
Let's get a couple things straight: one, I buy a lot of books; two, I read about 15% of each one. This book is one of the few exceptions. It already had 56 reviews when I wrote this, but after picking it up for the 84th time, I felt compelled to add my five stars. Buy with confidence.

Essential Resource and Makes UNIX Fun
This book is not a general tutorial, so if that is all you are after, then is not for you.However, if you are a novice or you are an expert, or in between, then this book is an essential resource to have amongst your collection.

There are so many useful scripts, tools, and tutorials woven together is different topic areas.There are also a lot of fun stuff thrown in, like how to configure your c-shell prompt to be like the familiar DOS prompt showing directory path.

Interestingly, in some parts, I find it to be a good reference and sometimes the only reference for certain tools and commands.For example, this book extensively covered and illustrated the 'find' command, which is very powerful and often used in the industy.There were not only good explanations, but comprehensive examples as well.I could not find any reference of 'find' with examples in any other published book.I think this book gives impressive coverage of other essential, yet seldom, documented tools.

Excellent
The power drill on the cover of UNIX Power Tools is very appropriate for this book, which is a collection of articles, various information, and tips on how to more effectively use the UNIX operating system. UNIX is of course a complex OS, and yet even novices can use UNIX after learning a few simple commands. And yet one can also harness much more of UNIX's power by learning its complexities. This book is an excellent reference, showing just how much more useful UNIX can be when you keep learning more about it. It is full of tips and information designed to make your time using UNIX to be more efficient and even fun.

With a book of over 1000 pages, there's something on virtually every topic of UNIX here. And you can "jump around" to different parts of the book to learn more about a particular feature or "power tool." Vi for example has always been a favorite of mine, much to the chagrin of some of my friends, and there's a chapter or two of Vi "tricks" to try out. Emacs is a screen editor that I also like, and again there's a chapter devoted to "EMACS tricks." Of course in a book this size, just about everything imaginable regarding the UNIX operating system is covered here, everything from customizing and interacting with your shell environment, to working with files and directories, the UNIX kernel, lots of information about scripting, to security issues.

Whether you're a UNIX programmer, sys admin, or "UNIX hobbyist" like me, this book is an invaluable resource. ... Read more

Isbn: 0596003307
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Operating Systems 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computers 4. Operating Systems - UNIX 5. Programming - General 6. UNIX (Computer file) 7. Utilities (Computer programs) 8. COM046020 9. COM046070 10. Computers / Operating Systems / UNIX 11. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK

$46.17

sed & awk (2nd Edition)
by Dale Dougherty, Arnold Robbins
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (02 March, 1997)
list price: $34.95 -- our price: $23.07
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Reviews (27)

the best desktop reference
Some good reviews on here -- my only additon is that this book has been the best desktop reference for me. I am constantly referring back to it to answer questions. A MUST HAVE for any novice/intermediate user.

Excellent!
Sed and awk are, as the book adequately puts it, UNIX "powertools". Sed is quite handy and awk is even better. This book presents a breathtaking introduction to both of them, and yet still delves into the more advanced details as it constantly presents exciting and useful examples. Both sed and awk are an essential part of any UNIX operating system, and both echo with the prestige of the master programmers that designed them. Well done, Mr. Dougherty!

2 cute little guys who will work hard for you
I've had this book for 3-4 years now and find it to be my handiest reference. I even use ot more than my vi book.

The raw power of sed and awk will humble even the proudest VB programmer and this book will help you get the most out of both the "Aho, Weinberg and Kernigan" and the "stream editor".

The first chapter section is entitled "May You Solve Interesting Problems" a paraphrase of the old Chinese curse, but with sed and awk no problem seems insurmountable and will make all problems appear interesting.

This book is an outstanding reference and will get you up and running with both of these handy little programs in no time.

Just to give you an example - the first time I ever used these programs (sed and awk) I developed a cron script to query a database every day at midnight, sort the results, grabbed lines with tagged values within certain limits, added a few totals, did some averaging, "starred" the lines that departed from certain parameters, then formatted the results into a report with a header showing the dates, times and query results, statistics then packed them into a report file and e-mailed them to a dozen recipients and added a few recipients if the data was outside certain values.

I did this remarkable feat by copying a few examples from the book, changing a thing or two and in the end had a little shell script that was a few K-bytes at the most.

This VB guy from corporate worked on a VB version of the same function and ended up with six revisions, several megs in the executable and never was able to get it formatted right. Not to say that it couldn't be done but..... I wrote mine before lunch one day. He worked on his for weeks and weeks.

Such is the power contained within should you want to tap it Grasshopper.

Great book. Amaze your friends and colleagues. Have the office women ( or men)throw flowers at your feet as you enter every day - well maybe not, but this will make you more productive.

You real nerds will hardly get finished with a single box of Pop Tarts before you are writing really cool scripts when using this book.

Like all O'Reilly books this one is terse, practical and highly usable - just like UNIX. ... Read more

Isbn: 1565922255
Sales Rank: 12679
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computers 4. Operating Systems - UNIX 5. Programming Languages - General 6. UNIX (Computer file) 7. Unix (Operating System) 8. Utilities (Computer programs) 9. COM046030 10. Computers / Programming Languages / General 11. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK 12. Utilities & tools

$23.07

Learning Perl, Third Edition
by Randal L. Schwartz, Tom Phoenix
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (15 July, 2001)
list price: $34.95 -- our price: $23.07
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Editorial Review

In this smooth, carefully paced course, a leading Perl trainerteaches you to program in the language that threatens to make C, sed, awk, and the Unix shell obsolete for many tasks.This book is the "official" guide for both formal (classroom) and informal learning.It is fullyaccessible to the novice programmer. ... Read more

Reviews (248)

Not for experienced programmers
It's a good book for learning the very basic things about Perl, if you are just starting with programming languages, but it's too basic for those who already are programmers in other languages such as C.
Most of the book's content is covered more in-depth during the Programming Perl's first chapter.

Good Book - NOT FOR BEGINNERS!!!!!
This is a great book but its NOT for someone who is completely new to perl and programming.This book assumes that you already have some experience programming with another language.I finished reading this book in two weeks.While reading I could feel for that person who is totally new to programming and is trying to understand some of the concepts that are explained.The book has few examples and does not walk you through from step 1 each time a new concept is introduced.It expects you to take all the knowlege from the previous chapter and carry it to the next and again to the next which I think would be pretty difficult for a person who has never programmed before to do.For example the simplest but most important $!/usr/bin/perl.The book only mentions this in the intro chapter and you never see it again for the remainder of the book.My suggestion would be first to read Perl How to Program by Deitel, then Learning Perl, then the Camel.The cookbook can wait.It will be awhile before you will need that.

Great way to learn Perl if you can program
I have read some of the other reviews. I beg to differ with some who say that you must be a Unix hacker to use the book. You merely have to be a programmer. This book is great.

This sentence from the book's Preface should be posted prominently on the product purchase page. "Although you don't need to know a single bit about Perl to begin reading this book, we do recommend that you already have familiarity with basic programming concepts such as variables, loops, subroutines, and arrays, and the all-important 'editing a source code file with your favorite text editor.' "

Amazon.com
It is fully accessible to the novice programmer. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inaccurate statement per authors' own statement.

From Book News, Inc.
A guide for both novice and experienced programmers who will find Perl a useful language for the tasks of manipulating text, files, and processes, superseding C, sed, awk, and the UNIX shell. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inaccurate statement per authors' own statement.

Book Info
This new edition has been rewritten to take a ground-up approach for programmers just learning Perl. Softcover. DLC: Perl (Computer Program Language).
Absolutely accurate statement.

The publisher, O'Reilly and Associates
Learning Perl, written by a leading Perl instructor, provides a systematic, step-by-step, tutorial approach to learning the language. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Absolutely accurate statement.

Product Description:
Written by two of the most prominent and active members of the Perl community, this book is the quintessential tutorial to the Perl programming language.
Absolutely accurate statement. ... Read more

Isbn: 0596001320
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computers 4. Perl (Computer language) 5. Perl (Computer program languag 6. Perl (Computer program language) 7. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript 8. COM051010 9. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript 10. Internet languages 11. Programming languages

$23.07

Programming Perl (3rd Edition)
by Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, Jon Orwant
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (01 July, 2000)
list price: $49.95 -- our price: $32.97
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Editorial Review

Larry Wall wrote Perl and he wrote Programming Perl. Better yet,he writes amusingly and well--all of which comes across in this latest editionof the definitive guide to the language.

Like Topsy, Perl just grew, and as a result the need for a third edition cameabout. It's now over 1,000 pages, which it needs to be, as it performs severaldifferent duties. First, it's an introduction to the Perl language for those whoare new to programming; also, it's a guide for those who are coming from otherlanguages; and, finally, it's a Perl language reference.

Among Larry Wall's other pursuits is being a linguist, and it's perhaps for thisreason that Perl is a peculiarly flexible language with many routes to achievingthe same ends, as the authors ably demonstrate. It's also extensible in severalways, designed to work with many other languages. Also, as it's largelyinterpreted, programs written in Perl tend to run unmodified on a variety ofplatforms--although platform-specific Perl modules and programming practices arealso discussed.

A major strength of Programming Perl is the way subject areas areapproached from several directions. This constant shift of viewpoint eliminatesblind spots in the reader's understanding and provides a pleasing echo of theway Perl itself can take many routes from here to there.

Because the Perl community is both knowledgeable and active, the language coversmuch more ground here than in the previous edition. Even if you have bothprevious editions, you'll want this latest version--if only for the new jokes.--Steve Patient, amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Reviews (224)

Required Reference!
This book is required reference for any real Perl programmer.From the man himself, inventor of perl. Highly recommend. For beginner, you buy this book and one beginner book too. I am long time perl programmer.

Impress everyone with regular expressions
I have to admit that before using this book I used "Learning Perl." However everything that I learned in the first book was in the first chapter of this book. I'm very impressed with the layout of this book. Every time I turned a new page I found something else I had to try. One paragraph in chapter six prime outlines the whole reason for really wanting to use pearl.

"Perl doesn't just glue together other computer languages. It also glues together command line interpreters, operating systems, processes, machines, devices, networks, databases, institutions, cultures, web pages, GUIs, peers, servers, and clients, not to mention people like system administrators, users, and of course, hackers, both not be in nice. In fact pearl is rather competitive about cooperative."
This book is well designed to get you off the Ground and hit the deck running. You won't be left standing there like a sitting duck. I doubt that I can give it enough stars.

great book for perl beginners
I was beginning to learn perl and found this book very useful. Later I learnt that it has a lot to offer to the more advanced user of perl as well. Great book to start with. ... Read more

Isbn: 0596000278
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming 2. Computer Books: Languages 3. Computer Programming Languages 4. Computers 5. Perl (Computer language) 6. Perl (Computer program languag 7. Perl (Computer program language) 8. Programming - General 9. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript 10. Programming Languages - Java 11. Unix (Operating System) 12. COM046030 13. COM051010 14. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript 15. High level programming languages 16. Internet languages

$32.97

Perl for System Administration
by David N. Blank-Edelman
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (15 January, 2000)
list price: $34.95 -- our price: $23.07
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Editorial Review

The title of David N. Blank-Edelman's new book, Perl for SystemAdministration, is strangely redundant and thankfully misleading. The souland source of Perl's core competence is Unix system administration, and anotherO'Reilly tome on Perl tricks for managing backups would not have been welcome.But the subtitle Managing Multiplatform Environments with Perlcommunicates the essential task: how to administer heterogeneous Unix, WindowsNT/2000, and Mac OS systems from the same Perl-based conceptual platform.

Blank-Edelman introduces this diversity of notation to motivate a far-reachingdiscussion of system internals, and shows how Perl is a natural choice forcross-platform administration. The Unix and Windows "slash" path separators--"/"and "\", respectively--are like crossed swords, where the Mac OS uses the less- generally-known colon (":"). In lesser hands, this treatment still would havebeen about LAN backups, but Blank-Edelman's familiarity with network imperativesdrives the synthesis.

As the topics move beyond file systems, user accounts, and process control, thetripartite division in the discussion breaks down. Treatments of TCP/IP ande-mail feature discussions of NIS, WINS, DNS, and nslookup. The chapters ondirectory services and SQL database management--while apparently digressive--areinserted tactically to enable elegant approaches to the more mundaneadministrative tasks of sending and receiving e-mail and managing log files tomaximize their utility. Blank-Edelman's keen pragmatism shines in the chapter onsecurity in which noticing intrusion earlier instead of later draws on many ofthe skills that are developed throughout the book. Notably, each chapter endswith a recapitulation of Perl modules that were referenced in the precedingtext.

The eclectic tutorial appendices--an old revision-control system (RCS), theextensible markup language (XML), the database language (SQL), and twoundermotivated and esoteric protocols (LDAP and SNMP)--are so brief as tofunction more as a Perl-free zone for shop talk than as valuable précisfor their respective subjects.

Delightfully, this is one of Perl's and O'Reilly's best-written books.Blank-Edelman's wit buoys the argument without descending into theall-too-common parlance of sappy testimonials, hollow confessions, or theburdensome ornamentation of inside jokes and puns. --Peter Leopold ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Multiplatform SysAdmin Perl Tools
The biggest asset of this book is the author's expert knowledge of the three platforms (Unix, Windows NT/2000, Mac) and the in-depth coverage he gives to each. With almost every Perl sysadmin tool he covers, he outlines the OS-specific Perl modules necessary to make the tool work on any of the platforms. This book is truly unique in that regard.

The Art of System Administration...revealed!
I was surprised to find a disclaimer at the beginning of the book on the places where it might NOT be a good idea to use Perl.Typically people take an all-or-nothing approach to toolsets like Perl.This might save some work where a small ksh script works ok - it's not always necessary to build a Perl program.

The best part of the book is highlighting the art and craft of system administration, possibly better than most attempts at it that I've previously read.Even disregarding the excellent examples and specific code for same, this is good as another resource of the harried sysadmin.Somewhat less so for the Perl junkies, however.

The biggest downside to this book is the inclusion of NT-specific constructs and concepts.Most system administrators won't touch NT, and most network administrators maintaining NT server farms probably won't touch Perl.This may be a bias of mine, of course.

Perl for System Administration
I was surprised to find a disclaimer at the beginning of the book on the places where it might NOT be a good idea to use Perl.Typically people take an all-or-nothing approach to toolsets like Perl.This might save some work where a small ksh script works ok - it's not always necessary to build a Perl program.

Isbn: 1565926099
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming 2. Computer Books: Languages 3. Computer networks 4. Computers 5. Management 6. Operating Systems - General 7. Operating Systems - UNIX 8. Perl (Computer language) 9. Perl (Computer program languag 10. Perl (Computer program language) 11. Programming - General 12. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript 13. Unix (Operating System) 14. COM043000 15. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript 16. High level programming languages 17. Systems management

$23.07

Perl Cookbook
by Tom Christiansen, Nathan Torkington
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (01 August, 1998)
list price: $39.95
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Editorial Review

When the second edition of Programming Perl was released, the authors omitted two chapters: "Common Tasks with Perl" and "Real Perl Programs." Publisher O'Reilly & Associates soon realized that there would be too many pages in Programming Perl if it put updated recipes in the new edition. Instead, O'Reilly chose to release the many Perl code examples as a separate entity: The Perl Cookbook.

The recipes are well documented and the examples aren't too arcane; even beginners will be able to pick up the lessons taught here. The authors write in relatively easy-to-understand language (for a technical guide). Through this book and its arsenal of recipes, you will learn many new things about Perl to help you through your toughest projects. The next time you're working on a project at 2 a.m., you'll thank yourself for the guidance and direction The Perl Cookbook provides. --Doug Beaver ... Read more

Reviews (89)

Pcolalug review
PERL Cookbook 2nd Edition O'reilly
By: Tom Christiansen & Nathan Torkington

Well I have the complete PERL library. From the PERL Black book to the PERL bookshelf and all between. When I first ordered the PERL Cookbook I was looking for a god resource for quick scripts to help me in My OpenMosix development. I received the book at our April Meeting and was immediately surprised by it's heft at 927 pages it is well packed with technical information on a wide range of subjects and code snippets to get you on you way.
I was let down by the complex nature of the language...While well done for a PERL or Programming Guru it was not easy comprehend able by the average user that I felt would be looking to purchase this book. The code snippets are a God send thou and more than make up for the overly technical writing.
I personally used the network and file scripts and was able to put them to work immediately. I would not recommend this book to Novices, But all others would surely gain a valuable edge by having this in there library.
Brett hoff
Pensacola Linux User Group.
bhoff@pcolalug.org

The missing manual from the Camel Book
Invaluable text that offers quick and varied solutions to the most common perl tasks.I like the variety of solutions; generally the first one they suggest is the one of the ideas you'll have had for solving the problem; then they refine it into most robust, idiomatic perl, which means you have the option of learning how the pros do it.

Oh, and the index is well laid out, which is absolutely essential in the must-finish-this-program-by-tonite sort of book that this is.

Exceptional Book
I consider myself a beginner Perl-hacker.I use Perl to accomplish directly applicable tasks for my work (Logic Designer).I hack as little as needed to get the job done.

Having said that, when I have a new problem to solve, this is the first book I peruse for ideas... and more often than not I find something very useful and applicable. ... Read more

Isbn: 1565922433
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming 2. Computer Books: Web Programming 3. Computers 4. Object-Oriented Programming 5. Perl (Computer language) 6. Perl (Computer program languag 7. Perl (Computer program language) 8. Programming - Object Oriented Programming 9. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript 10. Unix (Operating System) 11. COM051010 12. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript 13. Programming languages

Effective Perl Programming: Writing Better Programs With Perl
by Joseph N. Hall, Randal Schwartz
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (30 December, 1997)
list price: $34.95 -- our price: $23.07
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Editorial Review

Effective Perl Programming is a gem of a Perl book. Its author, Joseph Hall, is a well-known Perl instructor and frequent poster on the seminal comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup. The book's technical editor is none other than Randal Schwartz, noted Net personality, enigmatic author of Learning Perl, and contributor to Programming Perl.

Hall has distilled his years of Perl experience into a book for Perl programmers that is both fluid and fun to read. It's somewhat like reading the Perl FAQ; even when you think you know everything, there's so much you don't know.

Effective Perl Programming has a clear layout: the text is easy on the eyes and the monospaced font makes a clear distinction between backticks and single quotes. Hall uses his PEGS (PErl Graphical Structures) notation to show the difference between Perl's different types of data structures and how everything ties together.

Packed with great examples and code snippets, this book is an excellent source of tips and tricks to make your Perl programs faster and easier to read. You'll also find a strong section on using the Perl debugger to improve your Perl programming skills. In yet another section, Hall walks the reader through the creation of a complete XS module that can boost the performance of array shuffling eight-fold. All in all, this is a great book for programmers who want to move beyond plain, verbose Perl toward a more succinct and powerful coding style. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

Not always clear
Well, even though I rate this book only 3 stars, I do think it belongs to the shelf of any serious Perl programmer.(Of course, don't just let it sit there; read it!)I think the emphasis here is it's useful only for the *serious* Perl person, as it contains lots of in-depth discussion on the nitty-gritty details of Perl's idiosyncratic personalities.

The reason I don't like the book as much as I thought I would is things are not explained clearly much of the time.Take the chapter on references for example.While the authors include lots of examples, the explanation of how nested references work is just confusing.Granted, this is a nasty concept to grasp, but I expected something clearer.Instead they just say "oh this looks ugly", which is not helpful.BTW, if you are pulling your hair out over references like I am, the Dumper pragma (not the dump function) is extremely helpful.(Unfortunately, it's not mentioned in this book, nor in the camel book).

excellent
As a previous reviewer said, this isn't a book for advanced perl programmers. For intermediate users, however, it is excellent. No time wasted covering the perl basics, just lots of useful tips and hacks

Just couldn't get into it
There isn't realy anything wrong with this book per se.It does have some good ideas for Perl programming.

I just didn't find it very interesting or even that useful.I stopped reading half way through. ... Read more

Isbn: 0201419750
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming 2. Computer Books And Software 3. Computer Programming Languages 4. Computers 5. Object-Oriented Programming 6. Perl (Computer program languag 7. Perl (Computer program language) 8. Programming - Object Oriented Programming 9. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript 10. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript

$23.07

Mastering Regular Expressions, Second Edition
by Jeffrey E. F. Friedl
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (15 July, 2002)
list price: $39.95 -- our price: $26.37
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Editorial Review

Regular expressions are a central element of UNIX utilities like egrep and programming languages such as Perl. But whether you're a UNIX user or not, you can benefit from a better understanding of regular expressions since they work with applications ranging from validating data-entry fields to manipulating information in multimegabyte text files. Mastering Regular Expressions quickly covers the basics of regular-expression syntax, then delves into the mechanics of expression-processing, common pitfalls, performance issues, and implementation-specific differences. Written in an engaging style and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use. ... Read more

Reviews (90)

Such a good resource on Regex.
If you are an experienced programmer, then you have undoubtedly heard of the power behind regular expressions. Unfortunately, even for seasoned developers, becoming very proficient in regular expressions is no trivial task... or is it? Sure most regular expressions look very arcane and are even harder to write, but luckily there is at least one good resource to help bend the learning curve. I am talking about Mastering Regular Expressions by Jeffrey Friedl. This book breaks down regex to such a trivial level that you can't help but learn how to harness the regex power. Jeff takes you step by step through regex land and holds your hand throughout the whole trip. Next thing you know, you will be crafting high quality regular expressions and you will learn how to truly harness such a powerful tool.

Unfortunately in every programmers life there are mental blocks that keep us from truly progressing. For some it's pointers or OOP concepts and for others such as myself its regular expressions. This book took that mental block and smashed it, then it paved the way to regex land. Now I feel much better! HIGHLY recommended!

The book that got helped me get my start
Jeffrey Friedl is the man whom I credit for getting my start in computer programming. I even sent him a thank you letter after reading his first edition. Once you take the time to learn Regular Expressions, you'll often wonder how you got by without them. There is no better book to teach you than this one.

The definitive reference on regular expressions...
Plain and simple, this is the definitive work on regular expressions...Mastering Regular Expressions (2nd Edition) by Jeffrey E. F. Friedl (O'Reilly).

Chapter List:Introduction to Regular Expressions; Extended Introductory Examples; Overview of Regular Expression Features and Flavors; The Mechanics of Expression Processing; Practical Regex Techniques; Crafting an Efficient Expression; Perl; Java; .NET; Index

I've always been a bit reluctant, hesitant, perhaps even fearful to work with regular expressions.I mean, when you're presented with the following:

s!([0-9+(\.[0-9]+){3})!$1!

who wouldn't start to fear for their sanity?

I recently started to explore the subject a bit in the Notes/Domino arena, and I quickly realized I needed more information than I had.This book fills in all the gaps and then some.It's one of those rare books that starts at an introductory level, simple enough (given the subject matter) that beginners can start to grasp the concepts.If you're past the beginning stages, you can head into the chapters on how to write efficient expressions, as well as how arcane commands interact with each other.If you're not there yet, just keep the book around for reference when you do arrive.To finish the book off, there are chapters on specific implementations of regular expressions in certain languages.This ties the whole package together...introduction through advanced techniques, finished by focused information specific to a particular area of use.You can't ask for much more.It's also nice that the 2nd edition came out after Java had implemented the regex package in 1.4, so you get the latest information.

If you have a copy of this book, make sure your name is in it.This is not one of those titles you want to have turn up missing at the exact moment you need to figure out a nice single line statement to correct a 100 MB text file...Highly recommended. ... Read more

Isbn: 0596002890
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computer Programming Languages 4. Computers 5. Electronic data processing 6. Microcomputer Text Processing Software 7. Perl (Computer language) 8. Programming - General 9. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript 10. Programming languages (Electro 11. Programming languages (Electronic computers) 12. Text processing (Computer scie 13. Text processing (Computer science) 14. Word Processing - General 15. COM051260 16. Computers / Programming Languages / General 17. Internet languages

$26.37

System Performance Tuning, 2nd Edition (O'Reilly System Administration)
by Gian-Paolo D. Musumeci, Mike Loukides
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (February, 2002)
list price: $39.95 -- our price: $26.37
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Editorial Review

The easy way to solve a performance problem--and the one to which hardware manufacturers love to call attention--is to apply more horsepower to the application in question. It's safe to bet that a server upgrade will speed things up. True information technology professionals, however, won't take the easy way out when dealing with an increased workload for older systems. They'll do their best to wring top performance (with required reliability) from existing hardware, thus improving their organizations' return on capital investment and demonstrating their own engineering skills. The second edition of System Performance Tuning offers advice on where to look for bottlenecks in applications--both local and networked--that run under Unix. It also offers advice on provisioning new systems, which is to say it offers advice on deciding how much computing power is enough for a new system to be implemented.

Emphasizing Solaris 8 and, to a lesser extent, Linux, the new version of this book represents a significant revision (the first came out in 1990 and was pretty badly obsolete). There's coverage of advances in hardware--multiple processors, RAID storage, faster and cheaper memory, and networked devices--as well as consideration of changes in the demands placed on machines (after all, few people were concerned about Web server performance in 1990). Administrators will get plenty of value from the authors' discussion of what goes on during, for example, a series of large store-to-disk operations, and be better able to optimize their systems. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to get top performance from computer systems (those running Linux and especially Sun Solaris 8) without adding processor capacity, memory, and other resources at potentially great expense. The authors explain the ways in which operating systems and applications use processors, memory, persistent storage, and networks, and point out potential bottlenecks. They also show how to use tools--such as execution timers--that you can use to benchmark performance changes. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

mail rates for shipping???
I orderd this book and 3 others via amazon.com - from 3 different vendors. All orders arrived Dec 18 and Dec 22 except for this one from "alltel.net"

per someone in support - the problem is the USPS
I have been ordering products via the web - all shipped ONLY USPS - and have not experienced any significant delays - even during this Christmas holiday period.

I suspect that the allte.net needs to look at the shipping prices they pay vs. what their competitors pay and the results of shipping in a timely fashion. The customer is ultimately paying the price for shipping anyway.

What the man pages forgot to say.
It is generic and only dated to the extent that there is more information now. The concepts and methods are still sound
Want to know about SAR?
When you time an application do you want to know what the user-state CPU time and systemstate CPU time means?
Many of the pertinent questions and answers to System Performance Tuning are in this book. The chapters are:
* Introduction to System Performance
* Monitoring System Activity
* Managing the Workload
* Memory Performance
* Disk Performance Issues
* Network Performance
* Terminal Performance
* Kernel Configuration
* Appendix A Real-time Processes
* Appendix B A Performance Tuning Strategy
This book has helped point to the pertinent manuals on several flavors of UNIX.

Good when it's right, but be careful...
I had looked at the first edition of this book many times, but not bought it because of the age of the information. At long last--a second edition! Completely updated, and current!

Many parts of this book are top-notch. It does an excellent job of drilling down the process tree, caching processes (memory and disk, and the structures of both), and bottlenecks such as latency. I learned a lot, and I've got a fair background in performance tuning.

However...

The "Solaris and Linux" part is a joke--they could have eliminated all of the Linux tuning instruction/reference, and the book might have lost 15 pages. Clearly the authors aren't nearly as familiar with Linux as they are with Solaris. Not a big deal, but it's misleadingly marketed.

Furthermore, there are many MANY mistakes in the text--mistakes that, if read as given, run absolutely counter to the way the system behaves. Weren't there ANY proofreaders for this book? Also, the sections on disk performance and reliability (i.e. RAID arrays) were confusing and inconsistent. This is a subject I know and know well, and can only assume that the authors simply don't 'get' some of the stuff they're trying to present.

Buried in all of these mistakes and shortcomings is a 5-star book just screaming to get out. If they fixed the things I've mentioned, this would be THE standard reference--the performance tuning version of Evi Nemeth (et. al)'s Unix sysadmin handbook.

As it is, it's very useful, but get a second reference on anything you can't puzzle out--you might be right. ... Read more

Isbn: 059600284X
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Operating Systems 2. Computer Books: Operating Systems 3. Computers 4. Operating Systems - UNIX 5. Operating systems (Computers) 6. Programming - Systems Analysis & Design 7. UNIX (Computer file) 8. COM046030 9. Computer Programming 10. Computers / Programming / Systems Analysis & Design 11. Systems analysis & design 12. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK

$26.37

Configuring and Tuning Databases on the Solaris Platform
by Allan N. Packer, Sun Microsystems Press
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (15 December, 2001)
list price: $49.99 -- our price: $42.80
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Reviews (5)

Could not put the book down
I bought this book thinking that i would get some good ideas in order to get a little bit more performance from our servers, however once i started reading i could not put it down until 5 hours later.
It cuts all the small talk, and it breaks down every topic in an understandable format and teaches you what you really need to know.
The section on how to improve DISK performance was great, i implemented many things that i learned from reading this book.
Just buy it, you wont regretit.
Its a small price to pay for a good piece of mind.

Total Coverage
This books answers the questions that most others do not. A very technical approach, with great editing and no errors. The books covers architectural issues, Oracle tuning but scores really big in optimizing the Solaris environment (OS and hardware/disk).

Once in a bluemoon a classic is born!
This book doesn't belong on your bookshelf it belongs on your desk beside your workstation. Mr. Packer's clarity, conciseness and comprehensiveness in his coverage of a complex topic is a tour de force that few technical writers are able to achieve these days. Written for an intelligent reader in mind, the subject matter is explained simply, directly and elegantly. No profusions of analogies, this author knows what he's talking about and he can explain it.

The organization of the chapters is first-rate. You can get to the heart of the matter with a quick glance at the table of content. The indexing is excellent. I'm amazed that I can find an entry for most of the topics I'm looking up. It has become my first point of reference for configuration and tuning issues.

Do yourself a favour, BUY IT! I'm already looking forward to the second edition of this masterpiece. ... Read more

Isbn: 0130834173
Sales Rank: 191612
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Data Base Management 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computers 4. Database Engineering 5. Database Management - General 6. Database design 7. Operating Systems - Solaris 8. Operating Systems - UNIX 9. Solaris (Computer file) 10. Unix (Operating System) 11. Computers / Database Management / General

$42.80

UNIX Backup and Recovery
by W. Curtis Preston
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (15 December, 1999)
list price: $39.95 -- our price: $26.37
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Editorial Review

The Unix file system is reliable and very well-suited to mission-critical applications in which maximum uptime is key. But it's not flawless, and that's where Unix Backup & Recovery comes in. This book details dozens of strategies for keeping Unix systems online. The strategies range from good administration practices that minimize problems to hot-restore techniques that allow you to recover from breaks as seamlessly as possible. The book also contains absolutely inclusive archive techniques that allow you to restore huge databases and file systems from backup media.

Unix Backup & Recovery includes a lot of general "recommended practices" advice and lots of scary stories about lost files (and more than a few about heroic system administrators who saved the day, or at least the data). But it gets down to brass tacks too, documenting lots of backup and recovery tools that can make the administrator's job much easier when they're used properly (including cpio, tar, and AMANDA). Coverage of specific systems'backup and recovery issues (including those of Solaris, HP-UX, Oracle, Sybase, and Informix) are invaluable, as is the coverage of techniques for extracting information from ancient, obsolete backup media. The point: read this book before you have a disaster, so you can do everything required to head one off and be ready to deal with problems when they happen. --David Wall

Topics covered: Strategies for protecting the contents and availability of Unix systems, particularly those running Solaris, Linux, Compaq True-64 Unix, HP-UX, IRIX, and AIX. Coverage also includes backup and recovery software (free and commercial), and the mechanics of protecting and fixing large database management systems. There's also a lot of advice on defensive administration, backup hardware, and obsolete media. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

disappointing
This is the first of the O'Reilly books I have been disappointed in. I bought the book for one reason-- to find out how to restore a / and /usr file system off a remote tape drive.Unfortunately the book does not answer this question, all of its examples assume the server has a local tape drive attached. The authors spend their time touting freebie utilities at the expense of a thourough discussion of the backup and restore capabilities that come with the operating system.

The Computer Backup Book
This is *THE* Computer System backup book.It contains all the basics of why you want to backup computer systems, plus many of the real world experience details.It is written from a Unix perspective, but is still applicable to Windows and other non-Unix environments.

I've been using this book as a general guide for several years now. It was a book I watched work it's way through the O'Reilly system from first announcement to general release.I bought it when it first came out.I have not been disappointed in it.

Many people think of computer system backups as a dry old musty topic of interest to nobody in particular.But 9/11 showed how important good disaster recovery planning and procedures could be to a business.

Some of the specifics are now a little out of date, but not by leaps and bounds.It is still very good for its core reason for being - Backups.It is very much less out of date than other computer books on the market today.

I have been dealing with large-scale computer system backups and disaster recovery for large employers for years... and I still consult this book regularly to make sure have not missed anything important.It covers all the topics you need.

I had almost no experience with *nix
Even though I was still very new to Linux/UNIX, this book was able to help me create a fully automated backup routine as well as how to restore from those backups.I found the book very easy to read and not at all dry. ... Read more

Isbn: 1565926420
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Operating Systems 2. Computer Books: Operating Systems 3. Computers 4. Data recovery (Computer scienc 5. Data recovery (Computer science) 6. Database management 7. Disaster Recovery 8. Information Storage & Retrieval 9. Operating Systems - UNIX 10. UNIX (Computer file) 11. Unix (Operating System) 12. COM030000 13. Computers / Operating Systems / UNIX 14. Systems management 15. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK

$26.37

sendmail, 3rd Edition
by Bryan Costales, Eric Allman
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (December, 2002)
list price: $59.95 -- our price: $37.77
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Reviews (9)

There has to be better...
I admire O'Reilly books for their uncanny ability to hook me into a lot of advance technologies.I desperately need to get a handle on sendmail for basic configuration, so naturally I come to O'Reilly.

I investigated this book several times, and though it looks like a great awesome and essential reference, it simply does nothing for those trying to get off the ground.I think it is only for advanced and seasoned sendmail administrators, but for those trying to get a handle on sendmail, this is not the book.

In contrast, I have books on postfix and exim mail systems by O'Reilly and these books are decent in getting you started with sendmail.I am saddened that this is mainly a reference and not like other O'Reilly books.The book could have been called "send mail, the definitive reference".

Don't limit yourself
This is a great book if you are seasoned Sendmail admin with good C programming skills. I give 3 starts because it is so hard to understand.

I've been using sendmail for 3 years and I just tried Qmail and Postfix. I have chosen Postfix because it's so darn efficiant and configurable.

Viktor Duchovni, is a great help on the online community and the online docs are just as detaild as this sendmail book.

If you are stuck on sendmail then get this book.

But try Qmail and Postfix if you can...

BTW... RedHat lets you choose between Postfix or Sendmail. That means a lot to me.

the sendmail bible
If you are a mail admin and don't use this book, you are either doing it wrong or are a genius.

Anyone who is serious about sendmail administration and configuration must use this book.

sendmail is far to complex to be used w/o a great reference such as this. ... Read more

Isbn: 1565928393
Sales Rank: 65453
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computers 4. Electronic Commerce 5. Internet - General 6. Networking - General 7. Operating Systems - UNIX 8. COM020020 9. COM043000 10. Computers / Operating Systems / UNIX 11. Electronic mail (email)

$37.77

sendmail Performance Tuning
by Nick Christenson
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (12 September, 2002)
list price: $34.99
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Reviews (5)

very helpful!
i never knew there was so much under the engine of sendmail.

sendmail Performance Tuning is a great book and a lot of help.

no more sendmail woes
This book will save you time digging up newsgroups and mailing lists for answers regarding tuning sendmail. It's surprising to know after years of being a postmaster with a happy system I've never thought various info mentioned would help anticipate future mail problems. This will not only help you configure sendmail but understand what's going on inside it.

Terrific value for money
Nick Christenson delivers exactly what the title promises, all the way through this book.Every paragraph is completely on topic and packed with the sort of information that would be hard or impossible to find anywhere else.Furthermore, you know that unlike something scrounged off Usenet, you can trust this information thanks to Nick's considerable experience in the field, which he shares frequently.

I'd say this book provides a major strategic advantage to anyone whose business depends upon e-mail performance. ... Read more

Isbn: 0321115708
Sales Rank: 360218
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computers 4. Data Transmission Systems - Electronic Mail 5. Electronic Mail 6. Electronic mail systems 7. Networking - General 8. Operating Systems - UNIX

DNS and BIND, Fourth Edition
by Paul Albitz, Cricket Liu
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (01 April, 2001)
list price: $44.95 -- our price: $44.95
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Editorial Review

The Domain Naming System (DNS) is a glorious thing. It takes familiar Internet network and machine names (like "amazon.com") and converts them to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (like "208.35.218.15") that are meaningful to routers and therefore useful for identifying the machine you want to reach. What's amazing is that DNS enables someone in Germany to refer, by name, to a computer in Mongolia even if no one in Germany has ever accessed the distant machine before. It's pretty much self-configuring, too: No human effort in Germany is necessary to make the Mongolian machine reachable by name. DNS and BIND explains how DNS works better for this than any other piece of documentation, printed or otherwise. The work of Paul Albitz and Cricket Liu, now in its fourth revision, has long been considered a classic among systems administrators and network architects, particularly those with a Unix bent.

The fourth edition is mainly an update: The authors have added coverage of incremental and conditional zone transfer with BIND's new NOTIFY features, as well as of Transaction Signatures (TSIG), and DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC). Sections on firewalling and DNS for IPv6 addresses have been expanded. Throughout, Albitz and Liu maintain their impeccable style, combining text and illustrative listings into an educational whole. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Domain Naming System (DNS) and how it's implemented by BIND (through versions 8.2.3 and 9.1.0), how to set up BIND, how to configure MX records for mail service, parent and child domains, NOTIFY, and DNS security. ... Read more

Reviews (52)

Well-Written, Organized and Informative
DNS and BIND, Fourth Edition makes mastering this critical service easy. As someone who is trying to increase my knowledge of server-side services and the Linux operating system, I found DNS and BIND to be extremely helpful.

The authors seem to have found the ideal mix of humor, information and tips and taken that and rolled it into a very organized title. The book's chapters proceed in a logical order, a newbie can read the title cover to cover, while a more experienced admin can start in the middle somewhere and proceed to the back cover.

This reviewer was very impressed with the level of organization in this title. I have read alot of computer books, but it would appear that the authors really put the extra effort into this one.

Learning BIND & DNS as clearly as possible
I am a netadmin who works in NT. We are going to Linux in bits and pieces and one peice is DNS. I'm picking up where my boss left off and I needed some strong basics, clear examples and a good reference point. This book is all of those things (other than the fact they forget to mention what file they are referring to from time to time). I'm reading the book cover to cover and I'm half way through. I jump ahead when I need to, but always come back to following thechapter outine.

I have gained such a knowlege of BIND and a better understanding of DNS and I owe it to this book. O'Reilly does a great job with it's tech books and I am a fan.

O'Reilly Rules
If you've been afraid of diving into the depths of DNS, maybe because your readings through a few RFC documents proved fruitless, then fear no more.

In the first few chapter your taught how DNS servers work, sparing no detail. Concepts like negative-caching, recursive resolution, and inverse queries are explained and demonstrated with great examples and graphs. The chapters on configuring and managing BIND almost make things look too simple and easy. This is also a great book to learn how to use tools like 'nslookup' and 'dig'.

When it comes to the world of DNS records it's hard to find authoritativeanswers to questions, besides a few sites like Mr.DNS, the authors of this book recognized that need and sought to help fill the gap of knowledge. ... Read more

Isbn: 0596001584
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Internet 2. Computer Books: Operating Systems 3. Computers 4. Internet - General 5. Internet domain names 6. Networking - Network Protocols 7. Operating Systems - General 8. UNIX (Computer file) 9. COM060080 10. Computer Communications & Networking 11. Computers / Networking / General 12. Internet 13. TEC041000

$44.95

DNS & BIND Cookbook
by Cricket Liu
Average Customer Review:

Paperback (October, 2002)
list price: $34.95 -- our price: $23.07
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (5)

Magic bullet for quick DNS fixes/receipies
If you need to understand the difference between BIND 9 or Windows AD DNS and BIND 8, this is not the book for you. But if your management decides to tell you about the imporant new product launch on 20 servers in a new domain they just bought and kept under wraps to stun the competition which they need implemented in some novel way that requires a DNS twist, THIS will save you.
It will also save you if you are really a Windows admin, but you need to configure something in BIND.Or if you need to do something in BIND that you haven't done before.
Or if you don't care WHY you have to do task X, Y and then Z to get the desired result, but you need to know HOW?This is your book.

The WHY is in the BIND book from O'Reilly.

A 'MUST HAVE' for new DNS Administrators
This book has turned out to be the best investment I've made so far in my 20 year IT career. I've always trusted O'Reilly books for their detailed accuracy. However, for the task at hand, I didn't need a book to explain WHY things work... I needed one to tell me how to GET them to work. This book was perfect! It doesn't replace the DNS and BIND, 4th Edition, but is a great compliment... Actually, I'm finding the 4th Edition a perfect compliment to the Cookbook.

A NICE PROBLEM-SOLVING ORIENTATION
"DNS & BIND Cookbook" is a problem-solving text, which Network Administrators will be glad to read. It displayed utmost rationality in its simple and concise way of dealing with most problems, which arise from Domain Name Systems. It also exposed all the factors, which are likely to escalate Berkeley Internet Name Domain problems, before providing their remedies in a clear sequential order.
Net Administrators (as well as voracious users of any of the major Operating Systems) would appreciate the inclusion of an easy-to-digest chapter on Internet Protocol version 6, (IPv6). This book clearly made the mark!
Apart from the rather summarized information, which I noticed on two of its chapters, (i.e.: 'Create Zone Files For Your Domains' and 'Use Increment Transfer'), there is nothing that I will hold against this book. Cricket Liu did a very good job in writing it. ... Read more

Isbn: 0596004109
Sales Rank: 75823
Subjects: 1. Computer Bks - Internet 2. Computer Books: General 3. Computer network protocols 4. Computers 5. Internet - General 6. Internet addresses 7. Internet domain names 8. Networking - General 9. COM060080 10. Computer Communications & Networking 11. Computers / Networking / General 12. Internet 13. TEC041000 14. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK

$23.07

Solaris Internals: Core Kernel Architecture
by Jim Mauro, Richard McDougall, Sun Microsystems Press
Average Customer Review:

Hardcover (05 October, 2000)
list price: $59.00 -- our price: $51.44
(price subject to change: see help)
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