bash Cookbook - O'Reilly's Latest Release

For Immediate Release
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the authors, contact:
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O'Reilly Releases "bash Cookbook"
Use the shell like a Unix Master

Sebastopol, CA--Actor Matt Damon recently announced that he would not play
Bourne again, giving Unix enthusiasts everywhere pause to wonder. The
Bourne Again Shell, or bash for short, is a modern, general-purpose shell,
freely available, and the shell of choice for users of Linux, Mac OS X,
BSD, and other popular systems. As immensely useful as it is, it is not
typically something you "play" as you would Tetris or Warcraft.  Whether
you're a system administrator, programmer, or end user, there are
countless occasions when a simple shell script can save you time and
effort. The "bash Cookbook" (O'Reilly, US $49.99) by Carl Albing, JP
Vossen, and Cameron Newham, is packed with examples and advice for 
anyone who wants to learn shell scripting the way Unix masters practice 
the craft.

"bash" Cookbook offers complete working scripts that let you customize and
harness the power of your operating system. It provides many ways to
automate routine tasks and scripting solutions to scores of common
problems related to input/output, file manipulation, program execution,
administrative tasks, and much more. Each reciped includes one or more
code examples and a discussion of why the solution works. 
 
"GUIs will only take you so far, then you need to write scripts, or spend
hours pointing and clicking to do housekeeping chores, cleanup, and admin
work," observes Albing. "As users get more sophisticated, they want to
write scripts to automate the tasks they have to do over and over again,
or tasks that deal with large numbers of files."

"Users of all skill levels should be more comfortable, more effective, and
faster at the bash prompt after reading this book," says Vossen, adding,
"I love the Cookbook series and wanted to pick up where 'Learning the bash
Shell' left off to documents the tips and tricks I've learned, and the
traps I've fallen into, over the years."

The book provides a quick reference to real examples of all sorts of shell
features, helping you to:

-Perform common tasks with solutions that address the repertoire of things
you do every day
-Write scripts to convert between DOS and Unix formats, work with
compressed files, edit files automatically, work with dates and times, and
more
-Apply many tools commonly used with shell programs, including grep, sed,
awk, and sort
-Integrate recipes for interactive use, such as command history
-Create functions, use aliases, and perform other tasks that make your
life easier
-Learn short cuts that allow you to work faster by typing less
-Write more secure shell scripts that avoid the most common security
weaknesses
-Configure and customize bash to suit your individual needs and style

"This is not dry syntax reference material," says Albing. "It contains the
actual use of features in working examples--examples that people can cut
and paste into their own working scripts." 

"bash Cookbook" gives you everything you need to accomplish more, in less
time, with greater ease and consistency, so you can manage your systems
rather than have your systems manage you.

Additional Resources:

For more information about the book, including table of contents, index,
author bios, and cover graphic, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596526788/

bash Cookbook
Carl Albing, JP Vossen, and Cameron Newham
ISBN: 0-596-52678-4, 598 pages, $49.99 US, $64.99 CA
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
http://www.oreilly.com
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Sebastopol, CA 95472

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