Comments on: Classic Shell Scripting https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:01:23 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.6 By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5729 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:01:23 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5729 blf: That is a good source, and is available in multiple languages as well, but for noobs who have just installed Ubuntu, which uses modern bash, the 24 year old book is more of a classic. I would definitely recommend it as part of a collection. (I’ve also got a very early edition of the EMACS manual.)

]]> By: dave https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5728 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:08:34 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5728 Thompson and company claim to have invented unix so they could play spacewar, but it was once pointed out to me that the end result indicates that they were really more interested in cheating at Scrabble.

]]> By: blf https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5727 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:31:51 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5727 Arguably, the book on Unix scripting is The Unix Programming Environment by Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike (1984):http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/upe/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophyWhilst not about scripting or any particular shell, it neatly explains the power and purpose of shell scripting. The book itself is sufficiently old so a fair number of feeptures in current shells aren’t used, but that rarely detracts from its underlying elegance.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5726 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:52:39 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5726 Good question. I would recommend this book for both. It is technically detailed but well written and engaging. It is not a hold-your-hand book. A noob might want “Unix for Dummies” or “Linux for Dummies” (there are various versions and they are pretty good) … which has some shell scripting. But if someone is crazy enough to want to do their own shell scripting, they need to get serious anyway.This is a rarity. The main book on Perl, for instance (the famous “camel book”) is in my view NOT for noobs at all. This book, however, can be accessed at several different levels.

]]> By: Virgil Samms https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5725 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:10:14 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/27/classic-shell-scripting/#comment-5725

If you want to have only one book on bash, get Classic Shell Scripting by Robbins and Beebe.

Is this recommendation for a newbie, or for someone with several decades of experience with csh & tcsh scripting? If the former, what would you recommend for the latter?

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