Linux System Commands Book

The measure of a computer language command reference is its ability to balance depth and breadth with clarity and accessibility. A language handbook is no different from a database except for the constraint that a human being will access the database with two hands, furrowed brows and a sense of urgency. Patrick Volkerding and Kevin Reichard have struck a workable balance in Linux System Commands, a reference that provides brief descriptions and commonly-used command line options for end users. The entries are not intended to be exhaustive, and more information on any command can be obtained using the on-line man pages. The command list is, likewise, limited to commands that the end users will need, according to the authors' opinion. System administrators who need rapid access to descriptions of more sophisticated commands, such as routed, will have to seek other references, such as Scott Hawkins's fine Linux Desk Reference. A 50-page Part I is highlighted by two tables that map common end-user needs on to the appropriate Linux command. The first correlates a routine task with its Linux command, and the second correlates MS DOS commands with their Linux equivalents. The former table contains many relatively obscure Linux commands that deserve browsing. For instance rev reverses character order on each line of a file, an uncommon need, but very useful in context. Part II, main commands reference, is divided into seven topical areas: general (including X11), file management, text processing, internet/e-mail, programming, networking and MS DOS tools. Each chapter is comprised of alphabetised, one-page synopses of the major commands. Examples of command use are omitted from the synopses for brevity. Part III on Linux shells is so brief as to be inconsequential. Commands references are not without their allegiances. Volkerding, maintainer of the Slackware distribution of Linux, includes a description of installpkg, the Slackware package installer, but leaves rpm, the rival RedHat package manager, off of his list. Betraying some Macintosh sympathies, Volkerding and Reichard emphasise Linux commands that control HFS, the Macintosh file system. Linux System Commands should be left somewhere where you are likely to browse it peacefully on a daily basis, if only for five or ten minutes at a time. It would also do well next to your computer. --Peter Leopold, Amazon.comRead More