Linux and the Unix Philosophy

by Gancarz

• ISBN13: 9781555582739
• ISBN10: 1555582737
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-22
• Publisher: Elsevier Science

Summary

Unlike so many books that focus on how to use Linux, Linux and the Unix Philosophy explores the "way of thinking that is Linux" and why Linux is a superior implementation of this highly capable operating system. This book is a revision and expansion of a computer science classic. Every chapter has been thoroughly updated with Linux coverage. Linux and the Unix Philosophy falls squarely between the "softer" texts on iterative software design and project management and the "how-to" technical texts. Thus far, no one has come out with a book that addresses this topic, either in the Unix space or the Linux space. Linux and the Unix Philosophy covers the same ground as the first edition, while it also presents bold new ideas about Linux and Open Source. Concise list of philosophy tenets makes it a handy quick reference Anecdotal examples personalize the book for the reader Conversational style makes it easy and joyful to read

Author Biography

Mike Gancarz is an applications and programming consultant in Atlanta, Georgia

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Acknowledgments	xvii
Preface	xix
Who will benefit from this book	xxi
Chapter overviews	xxii
Introduction to The Unix Philosophy	xxv
1 The Unix Philosophy: A Cast of Thousands	1	(12)
1.1 The Not invented here syndrome	3	(1)
1.2 Developing Unix	4	(1)
1.3 Linux: A cast of one plus one million	5	(2)
1.4 The Unix philosophy in a nutshell	7	(6)
2 One Small Step for Humankind	13	(14)
2.1 Tenet 1: Small is beautiful	15	(2)
2.2 Software engineering made easy	17	(5)
2.3 Looking at a bug	22	(1)
2.4 Tenet 2: Make each program do one thing well	23	(4)
3 Rapid Prototyping for Fun and Profit	27	(22)
3.1 Knowledge and the learning curve	29	(4)
3.2 Tenet 3: Build a prototype as soon as possible	33	(1)
3.3 The Three Systems of Man	34	(1)
3.4 The First System of man	35	(4)
3.5 The Second System of man	39	(3)
3.6 The Third System of man	42	(2)
3.7 Linux is both a Third System and a Second System	44	(1)
3.8 Building the Third System	45	(4)
4 The Portability Priority	49	(20)
4.1 Tenet 4: Choose portability over efficiency	52	(8)
4.2 Tenet 5: Store data in flat text files	60	(9)
5 Now That's Leverage!	69	(20)
5.1 Tenet 6: Use software leverage to your advantage	72	(8)
5.2 Tenet 7: Use shell scripts to increase leverage and portability	80	(9)
6 The Perils of Interactive Programs	89	(18)
6.1 Tenet 8: Avoid captive user interfaces	93	(9)
6.2 Tenet 9: Make every program a filter	102	(2)
6.3 The Linux environment: Using programs as filters	104	(3)
7 More Unix Philosophy: Ten Lesser Tenets	107	(20)
7.1 Allow the user to tailor the environment	109	(2)
7.2 Make operating system kernels small and lightweight	111	(1)
7.3 Use lowercase and keep it short	112	(2)
7.4 Save trees	114	(1)
7.5 Silence is golden	115	(2)
7.6 Think parallel	117	(2)
7.7 The sum of the parts is greater than the whole	119	(2)
7.8 Look for the 90-percent solution	121	(1)
7.9 Worse is better	122	(2)
7.10 Think hierarchically	124	(3)
8 Making Unix Do One Thing Well	127	(10)
8.1 Unix philosophy: Putting it all together	133	(4)
9 Unix and Other Operating System Philosophies	137	(14)
9.1 The Atari Home Computer: Human engineering as art	140	(3)
9.2 MS-DOS: Over seventy million users can't be wrong	143	(2)
9.3 VMS: The antithesis of UNIX?	145	(6)
10 Through the Glass Darkly: Linux vs. Windows	151	(24)
10.1 It's the content, stupid!	156	(19)
11 A Cathedral? How Bizarre!	175	(14)
12 Brave New (Unix) World	189	(20)
Java	194	(2)
Object-Oriented Programming	196	(1)
Extreme Programming	197	(1)
Refactoring	198	(1)
The Apache Jakarta Project	199	(2)
The Internet	201	(1)
Wireless Communications	202	(1)
Web Services	203	(2)
Artificial Intelligence	205	(4)
About the Author	209	(2)
Index	211