Preface


A Practical Guide to UNIX® for Mac OS® X Users explains how to work with the UNIX operating system that is the foundation of Mac OS X. This book looks "under the hood," past the traditional graphical user interface (GUI) that most people think of as a Macintosh, and explains how to use the powerful command line interface (CLI) that connects you directly to UNIX.

Command line interface (CLI)

In the beginning UNIX had a command line (textual) interface. There was no mouse to point or icons to drag and drop. Some programs, such as emacs, implemented rudimentary windows using the very minimal graphics available in the ASCII character set. In addition, reverse video helped separate areas of the screen. UNIX was born and raised in this environment.

Naturally, all of the original UNIX tools were invoked from the command line. The real power of UNIX, and of Mac OS X, lies in this environment, which explains why many UNIX professionals work exclusively from the command line.

Using clear descriptions and lots of examples, this book shows you how to get the most out of your UNIX-based Mac OS X system using the command line interface. The first few chapters quickly bring readers with little computer experience up to speed. The rest of the book is appropriate for more experienced computer users.

Audience

This book is designed for a wide range of readers. It does not require programming experience, but assumes a basic familiarity with the Macintosh GUI. It is appropriate for the following readers:

  • Beginning Macintosh users who want to know what UNIX is, why everyone keeps saying that it is important, and how to take advantage of it

  • Experienced Macintosh users who want to know how to take advantage of the power of UNIX that underlies Mac OS X

  • Students who are taking a class in which they use Mac OS X

  • Power users who want to explore the power of Mac OS X from the command line

  • Professionals who use Mac OS X at work

  • UNIX users who want to adapt their UNIX skills to the Mac OS X environment

  • Computer science students who are studying the Mac OS X operating system

  • Programmers who need to understand the Mac OS X programming environment

  • Technical executives who want to get a grounding in Mac OS X

Benefits

A Practical Guide to UNIX® for Mac OS® X Users gives you an in-depth understanding of how to use the UNIX operating system that is the foundation for Mac OS X.

A large amount of free software has always been available for Macintosh systems. In addition, the Macintosh shareware community is very active. By introducing the UNIX aspects of Mac OS X, this book throws open to Macintosh users the vast store of free and low-cost software available for UNIX, Linux, and other UNIX-like systems.

Regardless of your background, this book offers the practical knowledge you need to get on with your work. You will come away from this book understanding how to use the UNIX operating system that underlies OS X, and this text will remain a valuable reference for years to come.




A Practical Guide to UNIX[r] for Mac OS[r] X Users
A Practical Guide to UNIX for Mac OS X Users
ISBN: 0131863339
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 234

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