About This Book

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to UNIX and its variants-especially Linux, HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, and Mac OS X. It starts with the basics needed by a new user to log in and begin using a UNIX System computer effectively, and goes on to cover many important topics for both new and sophisticated users. The wide range of facilities covered throughout this book include

• Basic commands, needed in daily work, including variations in the versions of these commands, if any, in Linux, HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, and Mac OS X

• Graphical user interfaces (analogous to the Windows interface), which let you use your computer more effectively by providing an alternative to the traditional command-line interface

• Files and directories used to organize data of all types, including how to create and manage them

• The shell (including the Korn Shell, Bash, and the C Shell), which is your command interpreter, and the programming capabilities it provides, which you can use to create shell scripts

• Editors used for creating and managing files and documents

• Utilities and tools for solving problems and building customized solutions

• Capabilities that let you integrate Windows and UNIX

• Utilities for management and administration of your machine, as well as for ensuring its security

• Commands and tools for program development

• Networking utilities, that permit you to send and receive electronic mail, transfer files, share files, remotely execute commands on other machines, and access the Internet

• Software you can use for building your own web server and tools for developing a web site

What’s New in the Second Edition

This second edition is a major revision of the first edition published in 1999. In preparing this new edition we updated all topics. Suggestions from reviewers and from many users of the first edition helped guide our revision work. In this new edition we have added many new topics that have become important in the last few years, while relegating outdated content to the web site, where it can be accessed by legacy users. Among the most important changes in this new edition are

• Details about the continued evolution of UNIX in recent years

• In-depth coverage of widely used desktop graphical user interfaces for UNIX, including GNOME, CDE, and KDE

• Expanded coverage of the particularities of the most widely used variants of the UNIX System, including Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, and Mac OS X

• Expanded coverage of the newest web browser, how to install and run a web server, and how to create web applications

• Thorough coverage of development tools for the UNIX environment, including Python

• Expanded material on security, system administration, and network administration

• The latest information on using UNIX and Windows together

• Up-to-date coverage of important applications for UNIX-both free and commercial

• Extensive pointers to books and web sites where readers can find out more about key topics

• Up-to-date pointers where to find and how to use many useful UNIX utilities and programs in all areas covered by this book that you can download and use free of charge

How This Book Is Organized

This book is organized into seven parts. The first six contain chapters on related topics. They are followed by an appendix.

Part I introduces “Basics,” the material a new user needs to get started and begin using UNIX effectively, including how to work with files and directories, how to use command shells, how to edit files, and how to use graphical user interfaces.

Part II introduces “User Networking”-from the perspective of a user-including electronic mail, TCP/IP, and how to use the Internet.

Part III introduces “System Administration” including how processes work and how to schedule them, basic and advanced administrative tasks, and system security

Part IV introduces “Network Administration” including how to run client/server environments, how to install and maintain an Apache web server, how to administer networks, and how to create and manage an environment that integrates UNIX and Windows.

Part V introduces “Tools and Programming” which includes a powerful collection of tools, filters, and programming language techniques. These include basic UNIX tools, shell scripting, the awk and sed utilities, and the Perl, Python, Java, and C/C++ programming languages.

Part VI introduces “Enterprise Solutions” which includes important classes of applications available for UNIX and ties much of the book together in its explanation how to build and maintain a web site in the UNIX environment.

The book concludes with the Appendix, which provides detailed information on how to use the man (Manual) pages for your UNIX variant.

Part I: Basics for UNIX/Linux

Chapters 1 through 7 introduce the UNIX System. They are designed to orient a new user and explain how to carry out basic tasks. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the evolution of UNIX and answers the question of what UNIX really is. This chapter also describes each widely used UNIX variant-including Linux, HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, and Mac OS X.

Read Chapters 2 through 5 if you are a new or relatively inexperienced UNIX user. You’ll learn what you need to get started in Chapter 2, so you can begin using UNIX on whatever configuration you have. In Chapter 3 you will learn how to organize your files and how to carry out commands for working with files and directories. Chapter 4 introduces the shell, the UNIX command interpreter, and shows you how to use it. Chapter 5 describes the basic features and capabilities of text editing using vi and emacs editors, and the Linux vim editor.

Chapters 6 and 7 describe the three most heavily used graphical user interfaces in the UNIX environment. Chapter 6 covers the GNOME desktop, how to use it, and many of the built-in tools available with it. Chapter 7 covers the CDE and KDE desktops, how to use them, and their tools. Both of these chapters illustrate how the UNIX environment has evolved from only supporting a command-line interface to supporting a rich-featured graphical user interface-which resembles the environment familiar to users of Windows and the Apple Macintosh.

Part II: User Networking

Chapters 8 through 10 introduce user communications and networking facilities in the UNIX environment. Chapter 8 describes how users can send and receive electronic mail; it covers the basic facilities for handling mail, as well as widely used mail programs, such as Elm and Pine. Chapter 9 describes how users can access remote machines, copy information to and from them, execute tasks on remote machines, and find out information about remote users, using the TCP/IP system. Chapter 10 provides an introduction to using the Internet as a UNIX user, including reading and posting netnews, chatting using the Internet Relay Chat, and using web browsers.

Part III: System Administration

Chapters 11 through 14 introduce the tasks needed to manage and administer UNIX systems. Chapter 11 explains the concept of a process and describes how to monitor and manage processes. Chapter 12 covers UNIX security In this chapter you can learn how the UNIX System handles passwords, how to encrypt and decrypt files, how to ensure the security of your system, how to control access to resources, and how the UNIX System can be adapted to meet government security requirements. Chapter 13 covers basic system administration. It describes how to add and delete users, how to manage file systems, add software packages, administer printers, and perform general maintenance tasks. Chapter 14 covers advanced system administration capabilities, including managing disks, managing the file system structure, data backup and restore, and managing system services.

Part IV: Network Administration

Chapters 15 through 18 explain the key tasks needed to create and administer networks. Chapter 15 deals with client/server environments and includes coverage of file sharing. Chapter 16 shows you how to install and run an Apache web server. Chapter 17 describes how to manage and administer the networking utilities provided under UNIX, including the sendmail application, the TCP/IP System, the Network File system (NFS), and the Domain Name System (DNS), and provides basic security measures for all of these. Chapter 18 demonstrates how to use the UNIX and Windows systems together effectively in a networked environment using a number of techniques.

Part V: Tools and Programming

Chapters 19 through 25 cover a suite of useful tools for solving problems and carrying out a wide range of tasks. Chapter 19 covers important tools and utilities that let you manage, edit, compare, and format file content, as well as general tools such as mathematical tools. Chapter 20 discusses shell scripting, including what shell scripts are, their syntax and structure, and shows you how to build your own shell scripts. In Chapter 21 you’ll learn how to use the powerful awk language as well as the sed stream editor to solve a variety of problems. Chapter 22 covers the Perl scripting language and its syntax, showing how it combines shell scripting, awk and sed into a powerful tool that is used for many applications, including web applications. Chapter 23 introduces the Python scripting language. Chapter 24 shows you how to use the C/C++ programming language to develop, compile, debug, and manage software programs under UNIX. Chapter 25 provides an overview of the Java object-oriented programming language, including its syntax and use.

Part VI: Enterprise Solutions

Chapters 26 and 27 provide solutions for the enterprise environment and for users running UNIX in a professional environment. Chapter 26 lists and describes a number of free and commercial applications that are available for use, including a wide range of horizontal (general-purpose) applications such as office applications, word processors, graphics tools, databases, and multimedia tools. Chapter 27 describes in detail how to develop web-based applications and how to maintain a web site.

Appendix

The Appendix helps the user understand how to use the key source of information about UNIX facilities, the man (manual) pages, and how to use and create permuted index, so that finding a needed command is easier.

About the Companion Web Site

There is a web site that contains additional content for this edition, located at http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/getbook.php?isbn=0072263369&template=computing, and referred to as the companion web site. This web site-in addition to providing information about this edition of the book-contains links to documents that cover additional topics, including some topics covered in the first edition or in UNIX System V Release 4, An Introduction that are now primarily of interest to users of legacy versions of UNIX. You will find the following material on the web site:

• Glossary

• Text Processing

• Advanced Text Processing

• The UUCP System

• Text Editing with ed

• The Tcl Family of Tools

• The X Window System

• Additional URL references for topics of interest about UNIX

Course Use

The first edition of this book has been extensively used for courses at schools, including universities and colleges. To make this second edition more useful for instructors and students, we have included a collection of exercises on the companion web site. Instructors interested in using this book as a text should consult their McGraw-Hill sales representative.