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Review: Unix Power Tools
Review: Unix Power Tools, 3rd Edition (book)
by Kirk McElhearn, [email protected]
Author: Powers, Peek, O’Reilly, Loukides; published by O’Reilly
Price: $69.95
Trial: Sample Chapter
As we all know, Mac OS X is built atop a version of Unix. While the Aqua
interface hides this so well that most Mac users will never need to look
under the hood, those of us who do will find a whole new world of computing. Sure,
many Mac users have Unix or Linux experience, but the majority for the first time are
looking at an operating system very different from Mac OS 9.
Unix is made up of a kernel which handles the essentials, onto which are grafted
hundreds, even thousands of tools. Unix users tend to prefer the term tool, because these
simple programs are usually only designed to do one thing, but to do it well. While some
of these tools are complex and powerful (sed, awk, grep, the different shells), others are
simple and, with just a couple of commands, can do some extraordinary things.
According to the book’s back cover, “With the popularity of Linux and the advent of Mac
OS X, Unix has metamorphosed into something new and exciting.” This is indeed true.
Not only are there several books about Unix for Mac OS X (including my own, due in
September 2003), but the number of Unix users moving over to OS X is astonishing. With
Mac OS X, we really do have the ease-of-use of an excellent GUI combined with the
power and flexibility of Unix.
Quoting the book, “With Unix no longer perceived as a difficult operating system, more
and more users are discovering its advantages for the first time.” In fact, I think there’s no
surprise that O’Reilly chose to update this classic book now, just as OS X is gaining a
foothold in the market.
This book is not an introduction to Unix. It’s not a tutorial about using Unix. It is more like
a Unix encyclopedia; the ultimate bathroom book about Unix. With its many hundreds of
tips, this is the book to buy once you are comfortable with the basics. You’ll learn about
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Review: Unix Power Tools