Product: 0596526784

As with most Cookbook format books, I am not sure that users will want to read straight through the entire book-I know that I would use it as a reference primarily. The entries usually have a Problem/Solution/Discussion section. I appreciate how the discussion sections generally do a good job of trying to explain various aspects of the solution. Even with what I would call an immediate level of Unix knowledge, I was able to learn some new commands. For example, I had not heard about zgrep until this book and had relied on multiple commands in past scripts when this could have done the work in only one. The chapter on secure shell scripts also included information I had not really taken the time to use in my personal scripts. I think that Chapter 12 was an interesting subject topic-End-User Tasks As Shell Scripts. It included solutions to topics like viewing photos in an album and burning a cd for example. While some of these scripts are indeed easily taken care of by free gui programs, it was nice to see examples of how bash scripts could be used in practical and different ways rather than the traditional work tasks alone. However, for the most part, I think that the beginning bash user will likely get the most out of this book. Some of the topics on shell scripting are good for beginners as well as those who haven’t written shell scripts for a while and need a good refresher. For bash users looking to start automating parts of their work, this is a good reference to have handy and can help you get real work done with the tips included.

Overall conclusion: Lots of good examples and idea starters for automating your Unix/Linux tasks.

Disclaimer: I got a copy of this book for review as part of O’Reilly blogger program.
Rating: 5
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