Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:  
Summary: good Linux desk encyclopedia
Comment: This is a good paper Linux reference for system administrators and (to some extent) software developers. If you are using Linux as a desktop system this is probably not the book for you, because you will do everything through a GUI and will never need anything in this book.
Despite initial appearances, this is not just a dump of all the Unix man pages. Each command entry is considerably condensed, with less-used options omitted and most of the more verbose option descriptions shrunk to one line. On the other hand it gives lengthier and more useful synopses than the man pages do. Some of the more complicated programs such as gawk and cvs have their own chapters with detailed introductions to the tools.
This is almost totally a reference, with no tutorial information and some scattered examples. The introductory sections on each tool are good. The book has a good functional index which helps find the relevant commands.
I have mixed feelings about the level of coverage in this book. It's perched in an awkward place between a really comprehensive reference (which would have to be multiple volumes) and an overview that alerts you to the capabilities and where to find the commands, without giving you the parameters and options. I think I would like it better if it had less detail, so I could quickly get an overview (without rummaging through 942 pages) and then delve into the man pages for the details. Think of the present book as a desktop encyclopedia: it gives you a good overview, and if you already know an area it can remind you of the parameters, but it's neither a tutorial nor a complete reference.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reference Book
Comment: When you need to know what a Linux command does and all the options you can use with it, this book is the one to buy. I have two other books on how to install and use Linux. They teach you about the integrated software and some of the operating system commands for specific actions. This book details the commands and syntax in depth.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Critique In a Nutshell
Comment: This book has a LOT of technical info. However, finding info by keyword in the index of the book was for myself kind of frustrating. That's why I gave it 3 instead of 5 stars. Plus, this is not what I would call a beginners book. As I move along in Linux though, I believe this book will become valuable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One very useful reading
Comment: As my experience suggests this highly useful book does very well as a companion for "UNIX Essentials and UNIX Core" DVD. While it is nicely written it is a pleasure to read and follow. As I followed someone's review, I have coupled it with the DVD and they supplement one another quite nicely! Concise format makes it easier to find topics as required.
Customer Rating:
Summary: O'Reilly Advocates on the lose
Comment: Hiya!
this book is a waste of money and space. what kind of an idiot would carry this book around? when all the information is in the linux system itself?? MAN pages and INFO pages.
observe. you can search for utilities in the Linux system by using APROPOS. can you automatically search for the utility you want in this thick thick book? lets say i want to use an editor. all you do from the command line is...
x@y:/$ apropos editor
the linux system automatically searches the database and man pages for the keyword "editor" and you get a whole list of editors you can choose from. try that with this book, all the utilities in this book are listed alphebetically... very good filtering / indexing system indeed *sarcasm*
you have to have pretty good knowledge and know the command and what you're looking for from the beginning to find this book useful. the irony of this is that once your knowledge level is at that level all you really need are the MAN pages.
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