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In a Nutshell
Linux in a Nutshell
Over the last few years, Linux has grown both as an operating system and a tool for personal and business use. Simultaneously becoming more user friendly and more powerful as a back-end system, Linux has achieved new plateaus: the newer filesystems have solidified, new commands and tools have appeared and become standard, and the desktop--including new desktop environments--have proved to be viable, stable, and readily accessible to even those who don't consider themselves computer gurus. Whether you're using Linux for personal software projects, for a small office or home office (often termed the SOHO environment), to provide services to a small group of colleagues, or to administer a site responsible for millions of email and web connections each day, you need quick access to information on a wide range of tools. This book covers all aspects of administering and making effective use of Linux systems. Among its topics are booting, package management, and revision control. But foremost in Linux in a Nutshell are the utilities and commands that make Linux one of the most powerful and flexible systems available. Now in its fifth edition, Linux in a Nutshell brings users up-to-date with the current state of Linux. Considered by many to be the most complete and authoritative command reference for Linux available, the book covers all substantial user, programming, administration, and networking commands for the most common Linux distributions. Comprehensive but concise, the fifth edition has been updated to cover new features of major Linux distributions. Configuration information for the rapidly growing commercial network services and community update services is one of the subjects covered for the first time. But that's just the beginning. The book covers editors, shells, and LILO and GRUB boot options. There's also coverage of Apache, Samba, Postfix, sendmail, CVS, Subversion, Emacs, vi, sed, gawk, and much more. Everything that system administrators, developers, and power users need to know about Linux is referenced here, and they will turn to this book again and again.
925 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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682 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 14, 2013
As a network admin. I find this book very useful as a reference. With so many linux commands and options, no one can memorize all of them.
It's fairly easy to find what I'm looking for in it. It would probably be faster if I had a digital version so I could use the find function. But with a paperback copy, it's easier to bonk myself in the head after I bork something up. :)
October 3, 2024
2009 edition broadly still relevant in 2024, with some funny cases like cdparanoia and of course systemd. Most of the book is organised as a list of manpages (mostly valid for GNU distros), which is relatively handy if you don't know exactly what to look for but you know how to look for it and you don't want to scan the entire manual.
Various sections provide neat introductions to rather complex architectural topics, which seem suitable also for a beginner. I'm not sure the introduction to the console and to bash scripting would work well for someone at their first steps, but it's worth trying.
Various sections provide neat introductions to rather complex architectural topics, which seem suitable also for a beginner. I'm not sure the introduction to the console and to bash scripting would work well for someone at their first steps, but it's worth trying.
August 11, 2017
A good reference book, especially for looking up parameters for commands. However, it is eight years old, and while a lot of basic programs haven't changed, many have so the book is outdated. Most of what's covered here can be found in the help sections for specific commands as well as a variety of online resources.
February 28, 2018
What can I say? Clearly in the honored tradition of the O'Reilley's other Nutshell books. All of which have a permanent place on my CS reference shelf. Siever simply covers what is needed by a BS 4.2 guy that needed a serious retooling.
May 21, 2010
.....review is on 6th edition of this book.....
Although I'm not an advanced user, I do work with Linux everyday. In spite of that repetition and daily reinforcement, this is the one book I reference most often.
Frankly, it's just not possible for me to remember all of the Linux commands. This is a user's guide that is more than useful; it's clearly written and all of the commands are covered in alphabetical order. I prefer having a handy reference volume versus sifting through Google search results. If you already have a basic understanding of using Linux and want a good book for looking up how specific commands work, then this is your reference manual. It's useful for beginner, intermediate, and the experienced user AND there's a comprehensive index of both topics and commands and it's easy to find what you're looking for. Should you need more, you will have to refer to man pages!
I found the chapter on virtualization a little light but that's probably best, given it's complexity and depth. The chapters on Shells, Boot Methods and networking are great and offer enough detail to get most folks off and running. The chapter on the various editors is well done and contains excellent detail; certainly enough to get you going with any of them. Package management was also presented well and helped me understand a good bit more about yum, after having used aptitude for years. I don't do much with sed, gawk or version control but the chapters on those technologies were understandable and will prove useful in the future.
Overall, I find this book extremely valuable and it is one of those that I keep handy at all times. It is, in my opinion, THE essential Linux reference book.
Although I'm not an advanced user, I do work with Linux everyday. In spite of that repetition and daily reinforcement, this is the one book I reference most often.
Frankly, it's just not possible for me to remember all of the Linux commands. This is a user's guide that is more than useful; it's clearly written and all of the commands are covered in alphabetical order. I prefer having a handy reference volume versus sifting through Google search results. If you already have a basic understanding of using Linux and want a good book for looking up how specific commands work, then this is your reference manual. It's useful for beginner, intermediate, and the experienced user AND there's a comprehensive index of both topics and commands and it's easy to find what you're looking for. Should you need more, you will have to refer to man pages!
I found the chapter on virtualization a little light but that's probably best, given it's complexity and depth. The chapters on Shells, Boot Methods and networking are great and offer enough detail to get most folks off and running. The chapter on the various editors is well done and contains excellent detail; certainly enough to get you going with any of them. Package management was also presented well and helped me understand a good bit more about yum, after having used aptitude for years. I don't do much with sed, gawk or version control but the chapters on those technologies were understandable and will prove useful in the future.
Overall, I find this book extremely valuable and it is one of those that I keep handy at all times. It is, in my opinion, THE essential Linux reference book.
October 6, 2012
A great learning and reference book for Linux systems. This book goes into great detail on techniques for pattern matching and line by line processing with psuedo-programming languages like sed and gawk, and also covers some of the editing systems useful on both fully powered development environments and minimal command prompt only systems.
January 6, 2011
Like all O'Reilly Nutshell books, this is clear, readable, and human. The subject field, "Linux," however seems to be too big to fit "in a nutshell," and the treatment comes up a little shallow. Enough coverage for a tutorial, I guess, but in the Nutshell style level that promises more.
August 26, 2007
Good for a basic command reference, but if you're looking for an in-depth, action-packed command list, this is not the book to get.
September 7, 2009
Excellent reference to Linux
January 26, 2012
Every bash and Linux system command anyone could possibly need is in this book.
September 17, 2015
this a perfect book
June 26, 2016
Half of book contains Unix commands and available options for each of them, which is redundant.
August 11, 2011
One of the better core Linux references
July 14, 2012
Not for the uninitiated Linux user, but a very good reference for those who enjoy using the CLI.
March 19, 2019
There are a lot of online references about linux commands but I want to get something like a reference book. The book contains a great reference of commands from linux terminal, rebooting, git and gitbash and many more. I grab this book because I want to advance my knowledge in linux. Though its outdated it gave me a lot of useful informationa.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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