The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction

William E. Shotts, Jr.

Jan 2012 · No Starch Press

About this ebook

You've experienced the shiny, point-and-click surface of your Linux computer—now dive below and explore its depths with the power of the command line.

The Linux Command Line takes you from your very first terminal keystrokes to writing full programs in Bash, the most popular Linux shell. Along the way you'll learn the timeless skills handed down by generations of gray-bearded, mouse-shunning gurus: file navigation, environment configuration, command chaining, pattern matching with regular expressions, and more.

In addition to that practical knowledge, author William Shotts reveals the philosophy behind these tools and the rich heritage that your desktop Linux machine has inherited from Unix supercomputers of yore.

As you make your way through the book's short, easily-digestible chapters, you'll learn how to:

* Create and delete files, directories, and symlinks
* Administer your system, including networking, package installation, and process management
* Use standard input and output, redirection, and pipelines
* Edit files with Vi, the world’s most popular text editor
* Write shell scripts to automate common or boring tasks
* Slice and dice text files with cut, paste, grep, patch, and sed

Once you overcome your initial "shell shock," you'll find that the command line is a natural and expressive way to communicate with your computer. Just don't be surprised if your mouse starts to gather dust.

A featured resource in the Linux Foundation's "Evolution of a SysAdmin"

Ratings and reviews

This book isn't really a Text Book. Like some of the LPI Exams etc, it's more of a dialog of the writer showing a friend (You the Reader) how to get things done on the Linux Command line. Lots of examples. And while it's not a true reference book, or written in that style, I can see myself going back to refer to it from time to time. I read the Free (short) version of this book, and wanted to get the "Real" version for some time.

I've been a Linux user for some time and learnt from "playing around" this book was the foundation that I should have had. Thank you for a great book.

I can only verify that this is a great book, well done to anyone starting out with gnu/linux and getting this gem.

About the author

William E. Shotts, Jr. has been a software professional and avid Linux user for more than 15 years. He has an extensive background in software development, including technical support, quality assurance, and documentation. He is also the creator of LinuxCommand.org, a Linux education and advocacy site featuring news, reviews, and extensive support for using the Linux command line.