Linux in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference
By: Ellen Siever, Aaron Weber, Stephen Figgins, Robert Love, Arnold Robbins
Published by O'Reilly

O'Reilly's Linux in a Nutshell is a quick yet in-depth reference to theLinux platform. The book is not meant to teach new Linux users howto use the system, but rather to serve as a reference and tool for thoseusers that have some experience in the Linux environment.

By : Dalibor Dvorski

The book opens with a quick introduction to Linux and the strengthsof working in the open-source operating system. It then movesquickly into the heart of the operating system by explaining itscommands and looking into system administration, packagemanagement, the Bash Shell, and gawk programming to name a few.

The book is split into the following sections:

Chapter 1 – Introduction
Chapter 2 – System and Network Administration Overview
Chapter 3 – Linux Commands
Chapter 4 – Boot Methods
Chapter 5 – Package Management
Chapter 6 – The Bash Shell and Korn Shell
Chapter 7 – Pattern Matching
Chapter 8 – The Emacs Editor
Chapter 9 – The vi, ex, and vim Editors
Chapter 10 – The sed Editor
Chapter 11 – The gawk Programming Language
Chapter 12 – Source Code Management: An Overview
Chapter 13 – The Concurrent Versions System (CVS)
Chapter 14 – The Subversion Version Control System

As mentioned earlier, this book serves as a reference for the regular Linux user – and it does well byoffering plenty of in-depth explanations and well defined examples. With over 900 pages of greatexplanations, Linux in a Nutshell is a fantastic resource for any casual Linux user or future systemadministrator.

I highly recommend Linux in a Nutshell for those with some experience using a Linux distribution andwanting to sharpen their skills in the growingly popular operating system. However, the book is notrecommended for the beginner looking to get into Linux for the very first time as it might lose thereader with its vocabulary and references after the first chapter.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

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