UNIX Bible (With CD-ROMs)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 750 pages
• Published by: Wiley
• Edition: 2nd Edition January 15, 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0764546872
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764546877
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
• Weighs: 3.1 pounds

Product Description
The ultimate UNIX reference--now revised and updated! Through real-life examples, readers learn to build and manage a peak-performance UNIX system, configure Internet and intranet connectivity, lock in security, and more. The two CD-ROMs contain a full Linux distribution as well as programming and administration tools.

"Novice and power users alike will appreciate this comprehensive reference." --InfoWorld Analyst

Book Info
Offers complete coverage of Unix, from the inside out. Includes information on security issues, troubleshooting, ISP connectivity issues, and more. The CD-ROMs contain Slackware Linux version 7.0 software, and valuable programming and administration tools. Previous edition not cited. Softcover. DLC: Unix (Computer file).

Reader Reviews
I bought this book with the impression that it would be a good book for system administration of a generalized UNIX system. I knew that it would not cover every scenario for every flavor of UNIX, but it should at least be a great foundation. The title is quite misleading. "Bible" implies that this is an authoritative and complete tome on UNIX issues. It is definitely neither of these. The cover even says it is 100% accurate and "what you need". Perhaps if one was looking for general guidelines, this would be true, but then the book's title would still be misleading. This book is by no means an exhaustive work on even the generalized issues. One case in point is the section on system security. It goes into great depth on describing one scenario where a hacker broke into a system and mucked around. It gives log listings, printouts, and descriptions of what was going on - in this specific scenario. This is all well and good, but it only goes far enough to show one single possibility. The authors are adept at making sweeping generalizations without too much elaboration. They pull in one or two very specific examples on certain topics, and then move on. This is just enough to make the reader hungry for more, but never delivering. The CDs that come with this book have an old, light copy of Slackware. Sure, it's a system that will work, but an update would be of much more use. What the book tends to avoid, and this is in my opinion the biggest problem I've encountered, is elaboration as to the differences between the different flavors of UNIX -- Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, Linux, BDS, IRIX, etc. It's all generalizations. Perhaps this makes the book more helpful to some people, by giving the bare necessities. But, that does not make it "what you need" as the cover says. Granted, this book is not a complete waste. There are some interesting sections that give nice discussion, such as organization of file systems and so forth. But these pockets of usefulness do not make up for the rest of the problems. There are better UNIX tomes out there, even available for download. Check those out before you seriously consider buying this book.