Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Linux Pocket Guide by Daniel J. Barrett


I’ve got quite a bit of programming experience; however (oddly enough) I’d done very little work with Linux. On starting a new job, I needed to learn Linux FAST. I needed to quickly understand the language and the power of the command line.
As a stroke of luck, O’Reilly happened to be offering a review copy of the Linux Pocket Guide by Daniel J. Barrett to their bloggers. I snapped that thing up fast and blazed through it over the weekend. Though I’m no pro, I’d have to say that just about anyone who uses Linux would benefit from this guide. It’s not a huge, unwieldy reference book (less unwieldy still if you have it on your iPad/reader), and it’s easy to find just about any shell command you’re after.
This book does cover the basics, though it does assume that the reader has some familiarity with Linux already. It goes into descriptions on logins/logouts, filesystems, system directories, etc. which was handy info. It also lists general Linux commands with their syntax and an explanation of what each command does. I like that it’s written simply enough for beginners to understand, but offers enough solid information to be a decent reference book as well.
It’s a really handy book to keep nearby as you work. It’s nearly impossible to remember every single command, and while I can certainly go and Google whatever it is I’m looking for, this is a quick reference and saves me a lot of time.

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