Learning the Korn Shell

By Bill Rosenblatt
January 1993
Pages: 360
ISBN 10: 1-56592-054-6 | ISBN 13: 9781565920545
(4) (Average of 4 Customer Reviews)

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Book description

A thorough introduction to the Korn shell, both as a user interface and as a programming language. This book provides a clear explanation of the Korn shell's features, including ksh string operations, co-processes, signals and signal handling, and command-line interpretation. Learning the Korn Shell also includes real-life programming examples and a Korn shell debugger (kshdb).
Full Description

This Nutshell Handbook(R) is a thorough introduction to the Korn shell, both as a user interface and as a programming language. The Korn shell, like the C and Bourne shells, is a program that interprets UNIX commands. It has many features that aren't found in other shells, including command history (the ability to recall and edit previous commands). The Korn shell is also faster; several of its features allow you to write programs that execute more quickly than their Bourne or C shell equivalents. This book provides a clear and concise explanation of the Korn shell's features. It explains ksh string operations, co-processes, signals and signal handling, and one of the worst "dark corners" of shell programming: command-line interpretation. It does this by introducing simple real-life examples and then adding options and complexity in later chapters, illustrating the way real-world script development generally proceeds. An additional (and unique) programming aid, a Korn shell debugger (kshdb), is also included. Learning the Korn Shell is an ideal resource for many UNIX users and programmers, including software developers who want to "prototype" their designs, system administrators who want to write tools for their own use, and even novices who just want to use some of ksh's more advanced interactive features.

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Book details

First Edition: January 1993
ISBN: 1-56592-054-6
Pages: 360
Average Customer Reviews: (4) (Based on 4 Reviews)

Featured customer reviews

Learning the Korn Shell Review, September 25 2001

Rating:

Submitted by Adam Gordon [Respond | View]

The only O'Reilly book I own that I've actually read cover-to-cover. The examples were appropriate, informative, and well-explained. This book is a must have for anyone using UNIX. An example or two covering building variables on the fly to circumvent Korn's lack of structures would have been helpful.

Learning the Korn Shell Review, May 24 2001

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Submitted by Duane Gran [Respond | View]

This book remained open on my desk for a solid summer while I was getting my feet wet with system administration. It is a great resource that I frequently refer back to.

Learning the Korn Shell Review, May 13 2001

Rating:

Submitted by Mr. Cheapskate [Respond | View]

I use this book as a reference all the time. I'd like it updated for the latest version of the Korn Shell, ksh93.

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Learning the Korn Shell Review, November 01 2000

Rating:

Submitted by Doug [Respond | View]

I needed to read a book about Korn Shell fast, and I found what I needed in this book. The format of the book is a little confusing, and certain concepts are not explained as clearly as I would like, but on the other hand I have now been able to write my own Korn shell scripts and configure my own Korn Shell environment without much difficulty. All, in all, I enjoyed this book much.

Learning the Korn Shell Review, October 13 1998
Submitted by JP - England [Respond | View]

The most perfect concise detailed complete read through and learn and then use for a reference korn shell scripting book ever! Brilliant.
Having said that - it was the only book on any shell that I've read (& the only one I've needed).

>:-)+<

Media reviews

"A thorough introduction of UNIX's newest and most powerful command interpreter, which combines the best features of the older Bourne and C shells, in additon to providing many new features of its own. [This] volume provides a guide to all aspects of Korn shell usage: interactive 'command line' use, plus coverage of shell programming." --Book News, Inc., November 1993

"Readers still bending back the pages of Korn-shell manuals will find relief in...Learning the Korn Shell...a gentle introduction to the shell. Rather than focusing on syntax issues, the book quickly takes on the task of solving day-to-day problems with Korn-shell scripts. Application scripts are also shown and explained in detail. In fact, the book even presents a script debugger written for ksh. This is a good book for improving your knowledge of the shell." --Unix Review, October 1993

"I admit to using the C shell.... So when Rosenblatt's book on the Korn shell arrived, I decided to go with something POSIX-compliant.... I have worked my way through the first hundred pages or so and have only had to ask for an explanation of something from a local guru twice. That's pretty good. My guess is that if you're not already using
ksh or bash, this is the way to get into it." --Peter H. Salus, ;login:, September/October 1993

"There are a couple of books on the Korn shell in my possession. The best one is Learning the Korn Shell by Bill Rosenblatt, published by O'Reilly & Associates Inc." --Peter Collinson, Sun Expert, May 1994

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