Unix and Shell Programming  (English, Paperback, Forouzan Behrouz A.)

Designed as one of the first true textbooks on how to use the UNIX operating system and suitable for a wide variety of UNIX-based courses, UNIX and Shell Programming goes beyond providing a reference of commands to offer a guide to basic commands and shell programming. Forouzan/Gilberg begin by introducing students to basic commands and tools of the powerful UNIX operating system. The authors then present simple scriptwriting concepts, and cover all material required for understanding shells (e.g., Regular Expressions, grep, sed, and awk) before introducing material on the Korn, C, and Bourne shells. Throughout, in-text learning aids encourage active learning and rich visuals support concept presentation. For example, sessions use color so students can easily distinguish user input from computer output. In addition, illustrative figures help student visualize what the command is doing. Each chapter concludes with problems, including lab sessions where students work on the computer and complete sessions step-by-step. This approach has proven to be successful when teaching this material in the classroom.

Salient Features

• A highly visual presentation includes 300 figures to assist in the introduction of new commands, over 400 sessions that illustrate the use of a command and related computer output, and 125 scripts to help students with shell programming. A second color enables students to easily distinguish user output from computer output. The authors teach students how to use shells as a command interpreter (Parts I and II) and as a programming tool (Part III). This allows users to progress from a basic interactive user to a writer of shell programs. An innovative approach to introducing Regular Expressions appears in Chapter 9, with components of regular expressions (atoms and operators) discussed and compared to mathematical expressions with which students are familiar (operand and operator). In addition to a variety of review questions, end-of-chapter material includes lab session exercises to provide students with the opportunity to work hands-on with the material
• The text's appendices include a rich supply of supplemental material, including EMACS, the history of UNIX, a summary of UNIX commands, and the differences between the Korn and C shells
• Material for a wide spectrum of Introductory UNIX courses, ranging from user familiarization to shell programming is provided. The preface offers a number of topic ordering options
• The discussion of each shell follows a common organizational structure: interactive shell commands, basic shell commands, and advanced shell commands. End-of-chapter material provides students with the opportunity to work hands-on with the material. For example, lab sessions provide students hands-on experience working with UNIX commands and scripts.