UNIX Hints and Hacks

Unix Hints & Hacks covers the science and art of Unix system administration comprehensively. While its title implies that this is a how-to recipe book for running and maintaining Unix machines--and you will find a lot of shell trickery detailed here--there's much more to this book than commands and procedures.

Much of Unix Hints & Hacks contains explicit solutions to problems that pop up on Unix machines. (Waingrow covers AT&T- and BSD-derivative kernels, along with several shells.) For each of the scores of situations he covers, such as those in sections like "Moving and Renaming Groups of Files" and "Troubleshooting ASCII Terminals," Waingrow presents a handful of solutions and explains scenarios in which each works best. Where appropriate, he provides listings of command shell scripts and explains how they work. Coverage includes user administration, file management, networking, resource monitoring, and security.

On top of his technical coverage, Waingrow includes generally ignored insights that concern the human side of administering systems. He offers advice on working with users who are experiencing trouble, suggestions for getting approval from managers for the equipment you want, and hints for developing healthy relationships with vendors' representatives.

He also presents his thoughts on applying for employment as a Unix administrator. You'll find hints on preparing a résumé that adequately represents your skill set, and the book gives you a feel for the kinds of technical stumpers you might be asked in an interview. --David Wall