Learning the Korn Shell (2nd Edition)
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The Korn shell is an interactive command and scripting language for accessing Unix® and other computer systems. As a complete and high-level programming language in itself, it's been a favorite since it was developed in the mid 1980s by David G. Korn at AT&T Bell Laboratories. Knowing how to use it is an essential skill for serious Unix users. Learning the Korn Shell shows you how to use the Korn shell as a user interface and as a programming environment. Writing applications is often easier and quicker with Korn than with other high-level languages. Because of this, the Korn shell is the most often used shell in commercial environments and among inexperienced users. There are two other widely used shells, the Bourne shell and the C shell. The Korn shell, or ksh, has the best features of both, plus many new features of its own. ksh can do much to enhance productivity and the quality of a user's work, both in interacting with the system, and in programming. The new version, ksh93, has the functionality of other scripting languages such as awk, icon, Perl, rexx, and tcl. Learning the Korn Shell is the key to gaining control of the Korn shell and becoming adept at using it as an interactive command and scripting language. Prior programming experience is not required in order to understand the chapters on basic shell programming. Readers will learn how to write many applications more easily and quickly than with other high-level languages. In addition, readers will also learn about Unix utilities and the way the Unix operating system works in general. The authors maintain that you shouldn't have to be an internals expert to use and program the shell effectively. The second edition covers all the features of the current version of the Korn shell, including many new features not in earlier versions of ksh93, making it the most up-to-date reference available on the Korn shell. It compares the current version of the Korn shell to several other Bourne-compatible shells, including several Unix emulation environments for MS-DOS and Windows. In addition, it describes how to download and build ksh93 from source code. A solid offering for many years, this newly revised title inherits a long tradition of trust among computer professionals who want to learn or refine an essential skill.
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| 07-24-08 | 4 | (NA) |
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This book is excellent for beginner-intermediate users. I did not have any experience with Unix scripts prior to this book, after finishing it I came away with a very good understanding of the Korn Shell.
Book is well written and covers the basics: command line editing, setting up your environment, up to process handling and debugging. One flaw of the book is that there is not enough examples. Also many of the examples later on in the book are built based on examples from previous chapters. While that is good for a learning exercise it does not give you a direct, simple example you may require. Overall I would definitely recommend this book, I still use this as a reference at work. (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-11-19 05:48:04 EST)
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| 07-13-07 | 5 | (NA) |
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I bought this book a few days ago for use at work. Previously, I didn't have much of a need for interacting with a Unix shell outside of cd and ls.
This book reads easy, and the author(s) seem genuinely interested in the subject - not the usual dry textbook point of view. Topics are explained well, with small examples to show how it actually works. I would suggest having access to a Unix machine with the Korn shell, as you can experiment with the commands a bit on your own. BTW, I didn't realize that the Unix machine I work on has the 1988 version of the Korn shell instead of the 93 version (the book covers 93), but most of the book is still relevant. They also cover what has changed in the 2 versions. (Review Data Last Updated: 2008-07-27 05:30:23 EST)
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| 01-28-07 | 5 | 2\2 |
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I once was blind. Spending decades in the UNIX world I spent time with several shells. Down through the years I visited many shells and even bought a book on the Korn Shell by the designer David Korn. I sort of got complacent (know-it-all).
Now obtaining a position supporting AIX I once again find that the prefer supported shell is the Korn shell; even sh is linked to ksh93. Several times I came across unexplainable anomalies; sometime paths would be absolute and at other times they would follow links. Traps seemed to work a tad different and other outcomes seemed to be hit or miss. The purchase of this book has been a real eye opener. What seemed to be arbitrary was in reality lack of personal knowledge of the latest version of the korn shell. I could not believe that a book by David Korn of AT&T did not even mention signals. Some of the highlights of the book are: Job control Functions Command history Command-line editing Integrated programming features Control structures Debugging primitives Regular expressions Advanced I/O features New options and variables Increased speed Security features Major features Security features POSIX compliance Arithmetic for loops Floating-point arithmetic Structured variable names Indirect variable references Associative arrays Additional text manipulation facilities More built-in commands (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-13 21:13:05 EST)
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| 12-02-05 | 5 | 3\3 |
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This book is just great. It has a lot of examples and every concept is well explained. Even for those who are not used to programming, this is a great book to start shell scripting.
The authors relate concepts (commands usage, for example) with those of bash and other shells, which is very helpful if you already know how to program with csh, Bourne, etc. So... if you're looking for a GOOD book about ksh, buy this one!! (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-05 16:33:34 EST)
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| 11-22-05 | 5 | 0\2 |
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I found this book very helpful in learning to write scripts for the Korn Shell. I keep it on my desk all the time now, even for other shells (Bash/etc). It's an invaluable reference to me.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-05 16:33:34 EST)
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| 11-21-05 | 5 | 0\2 |
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I found this book very helpful in learning to write scripts for the Korn Shell. I keep it on my desk all the time now, even for other shells (Bash/etc). It's an invaluable reference to me.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 11:32:49 EST)
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| 11-30-04 | 5 | 6\6 |
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While not as popular (at least in Linux circles) as bash, ksh is a powerful language/tool. Put bluntly, this is one of the few O'Reilly books I have read cover to cover. That isn't to say that the others don't warrant a thorough perusal, but that this book was readily accessible and provided excellent information. I have used it as a reference countless times over the years and do not hesitate to recommend it to anyone using or considering using ksh. Moreover, if you are considering using ksh - or perhaps need a better background in Unix shell scripting - read this book.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-05 16:33:34 EST)
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| 10-23-04 | 5 | 4\4 |
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When I started my current position, I had little to no experience in scripting. After reading this book I have become the top scripter on our team. Now when tasks need to be automated, I've become the go-to-guy (not always good but at least it is a form of recognition). I have recommened this book to new memebers of my team. In fact, I think someone has my copy now. Hummm... who was it?
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-05 16:33:34 EST)
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| 10-22-04 | 5 | 3\3 |
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When I started my current position, I had little to no experience in scripting. After reading this book I have become the top scripter on our team. Now when tasks need to be automated, I've become the go-to-guy (not always good but at least it is a form of recognition). I have recommened this book to new memebers of my team. In fact, I think someone has my copy now. Hummm... who was it?
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 11:32:49 EST)
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| 10-21-04 | 5 | 6\6 |
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If your job requires you to perform some tasks in UNIX but you know very little beyond the level a beginner's guide gave you (e.g. cd and ls) then Learning the Korn Shell will let you build on those basics to the point where you'll be able to program shell scripts.
You'll start with a quick explanation of what a shell is (i.e. it's a user interface, not the OS itself) then useful key strokes (avoid CTRL-D) and how Korn parses the command line. The book then explains how you can set up your environment and then moves into basic shell scripting. By the end of the book, you'll be able to read and edit the scripts along with your more experienced colleagues. Highly recommended. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-05 16:33:34 EST)
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| 04-14-03 | 3 | 1\8 |
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I found the book not usefull at all. Simple things on how to write a loop is so full of text without addressing the simple issue of how to write a simple while loop with a counter. I found the examples sparse and irrelevant to what i was doing.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 11:32:49 EST)
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| 12-03-01 | 5 | 8\10 |
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I gave it 5 stars partially because it was given just 1 star unjustly by a few reviewers. From a number of complaining reviews, one realizes that the book title is little misleading. It's not a book for a true beginner wanting to read about "simple" examples of shell programs and looking for detailed explanations line by line. This book is concise, to the point, and really explains "Korn" shell's features. Even as early as chapter 4 about Korn shell basics, things are explained that a long-time shell programmers may not know. If you do and have done serious, real world Korn shell programming, you'll appreciate it.
There were also complains about hard to find things in the book. But from my experience, it's not the case if one really reads it from cover to cover and unerstands the topics presented chapter by chapter. I agree that the book may not be a great reference book, but it was not written as one. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 11:32:49 EST)
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| 07-24-01 | 4 | 2\3 |
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If you are new to the Korn Shell then this is a great buy. Start here to learn Flow Control, Regular Expressions, I/O and command-line processing, background job referencing, and debugging. This text also covers basic emacs and Vi operations as well as ways to customize your environment in UNIX.
I picked this book up as a supplement to learning UNIX. The index proved helpful when I was learning a new command or searching for a solution to my problem. I like the book because it is easier to use than trying to scour the web for solutions. This book will at least narrow the task and help you know what to look for on the web. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 11:32:49 EST)
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| 05-08-01 | 5 | 3\3 |
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An excellent book for beginning to intermediate UNIX/ksh users. Clear. To the point. Easy to read. Few "forward references" -- those that exist are clearly explained; i.e., "X is because of Y, which is discussed in Chapter N." No superfluous diagrams or typographic fluff.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 11:32:49 EST)
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| 03-30-01 | 5 | 10\11 |
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This is a great book for someone new to ksh programmer. It should be treated as a work manual and not as a reference book. Read this book through from cover to cover and you'll soon be writing ksh scripts with ease.
The book takes you though Korn shell basics from answer what a shell is to using files, I/O, and character quoting. From there it goes into command line editing, customizing your environment, and into basic programming. Once through that you learn flow control, arrays, advanced I/O, and process handling. Finally you learn how to debug the script you just wrote. As a reference manual this book is average. It's not meant to be a typical "nutshell" book and shouldn't be treated as one. The bottom line? Buy this book if you are truly interested in learning how to program in the Korn shell. (Review Data Last Updated: 2006-07-06 11:32:49 EST)
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