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Learning Modern Linux: A Handbook for the Cloud Native Practitioner
If you use Linux in development or operations and need a structured approach to help you dive deeper, this book is for you. Author Michael Hausenblas also provides tips and tricks for improving your workflow with this open source operating system. Whether you're a developer, software architect, or site reliability engineer, this hands-on guide focuses on ways to use Linux for your everyday needs, from development to office-related tasks. Along the way, you'll gain hands-on experience with modern Linux terminals and shells, and learn how to manage your workloads. You'll understand how to run Linux applications by using containers, systemd, modern filesystems, and immutable distros such as Flatcar and Bottlerocket.
258 pages, Paperback
First published May 24, 2022
29 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 29, 2023
I found this book similar in spirit to : Like Java and JVM, is a pretty mature technology stack, and like Java and JVM, it ain't what it used to be. And I'm not talking about mid-1990s or 2000s for that matter. Heck, even if you think about only 13 years ago, that is 2010 (sounds like ancient times!), GNU/Linux and its surrounding tools, techniques, and practices come a long way. This book covers the basic ground for people who deal with GNU/Linux in a professional capacity: not newbies/beginners, and not necessarily experts, but on their way to becoming veterans on some or many parts of GNU/Linux and related technologies.
The author does a good job of covering many of the fundamental areas of a modern Linux environment from different perspectives, and always provide the relevant pointers to resources for further study. And further study is what you must do, if you haven't done already, because if the author wanted to be fair to all of the topics, the book could easily reach 1000s of pages, if not more. This is why I appreciate when authors keep a pragmatic balance, cover the required fundamental topics, provide the reader with a high quality, carefully selected list of in-depth materials.
Personally, I didn't expect to learn much, given the constraints of the book, but I really enjoyed the style of the author, and even discovered a tool or two that I can add to my "".
If you already had your first experience with Linux and want to check if there are gaps in your understanding, and become more proficient in a modern Linux environment, both from a daily user, as well as system administrator, professional developer, system/network/distributed application firefighter perspective, then you can't go wrong with this book. This book alone will not turn you into a modern Linux expert, but without having internalized everything in this book, you can't claim to be well-grounded Linux professional.
The author does a good job of covering many of the fundamental areas of a modern Linux environment from different perspectives, and always provide the relevant pointers to resources for further study. And further study is what you must do, if you haven't done already, because if the author wanted to be fair to all of the topics, the book could easily reach 1000s of pages, if not more. This is why I appreciate when authors keep a pragmatic balance, cover the required fundamental topics, provide the reader with a high quality, carefully selected list of in-depth materials.
Personally, I didn't expect to learn much, given the constraints of the book, but I really enjoyed the style of the author, and even discovered a tool or two that I can add to my "".
If you already had your first experience with Linux and want to check if there are gaps in your understanding, and become more proficient in a modern Linux environment, both from a daily user, as well as system administrator, professional developer, system/network/distributed application firefighter perspective, then you can't go wrong with this book. This book alone will not turn you into a modern Linux expert, but without having internalized everything in this book, you can't claim to be well-grounded Linux professional.
May 7, 2023
I liked this book because it widened my view of Linux. I'm familiar with Linux for the desktop but I wasn't really aware of how far it has extended into other devices and servers. Beyond that I learned a bit about containers and features of newer Linux systems. Might not be enough here for either a true beginner or an experienced user but it was helpful to me as a supplement to starting out.
June 10, 2022
Книга довольно странная. Для новичка бесполезна, так как упускает многие важные начальные аспекты работы с Linux. Для продвинутого пользователя не интересна, так как действительно сложные темы обводит лишь легкими мазками. Для себя нашел только один полезный для работы момент.
April 1, 2023
Not an in-depth read on the topic. Scratches the surface for the most part on all-things-Linux focusing primarily on the container ecosystem. I picked this up because it was referenced in Liz Rice's Container Security and when I checked the contents before buying, it looked decent. But I wasn't able to enjoy this book for the very reason that it was covering too much surface with little depth. But at the same time, if you're looking for just a passing introduction to Linux, this might be a good entry-level book. Anything more and you're better off skipping this one imho.
July 1, 2024
Good book on different parts of linux and provides a good overview - but doesn't go in-depth (as is mentioned in the preamble). I think this is a good stepping stone for software eng who doesn't know enough about sysadmin / working with linux. Also contains great links to resources for further reading.
July 20, 2022
If you already have a lot of experience with Linux, there’s not much to learn. It is a very well written book though, with a lot of pointers that I believe both new and somewhat experienced linux admins will appreciate.
December 28, 2022
Very good introduction on topics for cloud era, fundamental but critical on better understanding how Linux works. I really like the references at the end of each chapter, which guide people to go deeper if want.
April 6, 2024
I found this book to be very approachable for someone who has decent proficiency with working on Linux. It does a great job of covering relevant topics relating to the ecosystem, helping the reader choose which aspects they should focus on for a deeper dive. Overall a great read.
March 8, 2025
A well done textbook produced the way all technical books should be. Also a great up-to-date introduction to Linux in the cloud for those new to the cloud native paradigm and DevOps, as well as more experienced developers who need a refresher from a current book on the subject.
May 25, 2022
I’ve been using Linux for more than two decades, and yet there were things I didn’t understand until I read this book.
November 20, 2023
It is talking about "Modern" linux. Great to read it after using linux for 20 years. It's time to learn some new tricks.
May 24, 2024
It was really dope, but I was hoping for more advanced topics
December 5, 2024
As somebody working with Linux the past six years, I was looking for an intermediate level book on Linux.
Less rudimentary level introduction of "what" Linux is, more nuanced explanations of "how" it does what it does. And more importantly - why.
This book starts with a good primer on the inner workings of a personal computer. How the operating system (or rather, its kernel) acts as a middleman between the user land and the underlying hardware.
A fair place to start, no doubt.
We then move on to slightly more advanced topics, such as shell scripting, permissions (access controls), application package management, networking, etc.
All of these topics are vast and nuanced; so much so that each one deserves a book in its own right. Most of them do, matter of fact.
While I can't say that the author glosses over them, but he provides just enough information to give you a basic overview and leaves a myriad of short URLs strewn across the text in place of elaboration. As if to say: "Here, check these out if you want to gain a deeper understanding."
One would assume the purpose of technical books in general (as well as this one in particular) was to provide this more profound comprehension. Apparently not.
All in all, the book is choke full of useful, if superficial, information that can be gained from other, better titles. As for the "Modern" part of the title. The author namedrops a couple modern Linux distros, command line tools, and programs that you might not find in other titles. But that's about it.
This is a mediocre cursory introduction to Linux, padded with general level info on tangential topics (e.g. DNS), and a lack of an overarching leitmotif. The numerous chapters don't naturally flow from one to the next; nor do they build up to a more profound and meaningful understanding of Linux at the end
Less rudimentary level introduction of "what" Linux is, more nuanced explanations of "how" it does what it does. And more importantly - why.
This book starts with a good primer on the inner workings of a personal computer. How the operating system (or rather, its kernel) acts as a middleman between the user land and the underlying hardware.
A fair place to start, no doubt.
We then move on to slightly more advanced topics, such as shell scripting, permissions (access controls), application package management, networking, etc.
All of these topics are vast and nuanced; so much so that each one deserves a book in its own right. Most of them do, matter of fact.
While I can't say that the author glosses over them, but he provides just enough information to give you a basic overview and leaves a myriad of short URLs strewn across the text in place of elaboration. As if to say: "Here, check these out if you want to gain a deeper understanding."
One would assume the purpose of technical books in general (as well as this one in particular) was to provide this more profound comprehension. Apparently not.
All in all, the book is choke full of useful, if superficial, information that can be gained from other, better titles. As for the "Modern" part of the title. The author namedrops a couple modern Linux distros, command line tools, and programs that you might not find in other titles. But that's about it.
This is a mediocre cursory introduction to Linux, padded with general level info on tangential topics (e.g. DNS), and a lack of an overarching leitmotif. The numerous chapters don't naturally flow from one to the next; nor do they build up to a more profound and meaningful understanding of Linux at the end
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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