Product: 0131429019

The Art of UNIX Programming by Eric S. Raymond, contains over 30 years software engineering wisdom. In addition to Raymond?s own experience, the book also incorporates knowledge from thirteen UNIX pioneers including Ken Thompson (the creator of UNIX) and David Korn (creator of the korn shell). Raymond?s book tells about the philosophy, design, tools, culture, and traditions that make up UNIX. Raymond shows how these are being carried forward today in both the open-source movement and Linux.
Personally, I rather enjoyed reading this book because it’s not just another book that teaches you how to use a particular programming language. This book teaches you how to design software, teaching you the philosophy behind UNIX and contains some of the history hacker lore that made UNIX what it is today.
Unlike most programming books I have read this book uses case studies to prove a point rather then tailored examples. The case studies use real, pre-existing pieces of open-source software that are in use every day (including Kmail, The Gimp, Audacity and many others). Through these case studies Eric demonstrates how to apply the book’s wisdom in building software that not only adheres to the UNIX philosophy but software that is more portable, more reusable, and longer lived.
Rating: 4
0131429019
Count: 8