Classic Shell Scripting - O'Reilly's Latest Release

For Immediate Release
For more information, a review copy, cover art, or an interview with
the authors, contact:
Kathryn Barrett (707) 827-7094 or kathrynb@oreilly.com 

Beyond the GUI--Using Shell Scripts to Unlock the Power of Unix
O'Reilly Releases "Classic Shell Scripting"

Sebastopol, CA--A Swiss Army Knife is a nifty tool--one that proves useful
in the most surprising situations--but handy as it is, it can't do
everything. "There's only so much you can do with a Swiss Army Knife,"
Arnold Robbins and Nelson H. F. Beebe explain in their preface to "Classic
Shell Scripting" (O'Reilly, US $34.95). "While it might be great for
whittling or simple carving, you wouldn't want to use it, for example, to
build a doghouse or a bird feeder. Instead, you would move on to using
specialized tools, such as a hammer, saw, clamp, or planer. So, too, when
solving programming problems, it's better to use specialized software
tools."

Experienced Unix developers and administrators have used this
long-standing analogy to illustrate the "software tools philosophy," an
approach first popularized by the book "Software Tools" (Addison-Wesley)
nearly thirty years ago.  In the ensuing decades, Unix systems and the
tools used with them have changed, while the philosophy remains as
meaningful as ever.  "My coauthor and I felt that many of the original
Software Tools principles, practices, and techniques--the Unix 'mindset,'
so to speak--popularized by the early Unix books were becoming unknown to
the current generation of Unix and Linux developers," explains Robbins.
"We felt that a modern treatment of these ideas would have a lot of
value."

New Unix users and programmers are often bewildered by the variety of
tools they find themselves faced with, leading to questions such as "What
purpose do they serve?" and "How do I use them?"  As Robbins and Beebe
demonstrate, these tools are the key to unlocking the real potential of
Unix.  They call it the "art of shell scripting"--that is, combining Unix
tools with the standard shell to get a job done.  Shell scripting is not
just knowledge of the shell language, but also an understanding of the
individual Unix programs: why each one is there, and how to use them by
themselves and in combination with other programs.

Robbins notes that the idea of shell scripting seems increasingly foreign
to the new wave of Unix users, which is ultimately to their disadvantage:
"There is a rush in the Linux and Unix worlds to hide the command line
away and do everything with graphical interfaces," he observes. "This is a
shame: the underlying power of the shell and the Unix utilities enable
many things that just can't be done from a predefined, monolithic,
unprogrammable GUI. The differences and capabilities of Unix and Linux
systems are what distinguish them from the monopolistic market leader.
These abilities should be celebrated, publicized, and learned, not hidden
away."

"Classic Shell Scripting" introduces readers to the common tools that come
with a Unix or Linux system, and shows them how to combine the tools with
the shell programming language.  Readers will learn:

-Software tool design concepts and principals
-The core set of Unix tools used with shell scripting
-How to combine the tools, using the shell as "glue," to solve everyday
 tasks
-About popular extensions to standard tools
-About indispensable nonstandard tools

To Robbins, shell scripting is a critical skill for anyone who runs Unix
systems or develops software on them. "That includes Linux, the BSDs, and
Mac OS X," he says. "The climb up the learning curve is worth the
trouble."

In his foreword to the book, Henry Spencer of SP Systems laments the
conspicuous lack of a good book on shell scripting, but reassures readers
that, "Here, at last, is an up-to-date and painless introduction to the
first and best of the Unix scripting languages.  It's illustrated with
realistic examples that make useful tools in their own right. It covers
the standard Unix tools well enough to get people started with them (and
to make a useful reference for those who find the manual pages a bit
forbidding)." Spencer adds, "I recommend this book to anyone doing shell
scripting or administering Unix-derived systems. I learned things from it;
I think you will too."

Additional Resources:

Chapter 5, "Pipelines Can Do Amazing Things," is available online at:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/shellsrptg/chapter/index.html

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

For a cover graphic in JPEG format, go to: 
ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/0596005...

Classic Shell Scripting
Arnold Robbins and Nelson H. F. Beebe
ISBN: 0-596-00595-4, 534 pages, $34.95 US, $48.95 CA
order@oreilly.com
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