Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

Very handy, a bit similar to printed man pages, but much better - logically organized according to the commands intended function. Nutshells explanations are what the man pages could have been. Each nutshell entry includes examples which actually relate to common PC user needs.

I would, however, appreciate replacing the fvwm2 section with likewise detailed devfs content, since devfs is coming of age (I doubt I'll ever use fvwm2, devfs is much hotter of an issue for me today).

Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

The book is the most informative book I've ever found on linux.It is more definitive and good for beginners.

Adil Ashraff

Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

This is a great book. One that is destined to be on every Linux users desk, or at least book shelf. It has a little bit of something for everyone. Shell scripting (bash, csh and tcsh), vi and emacs, sed and gawk, GNOME KDE and fvwm2. What I likes best was the almost 400 pages of Linux command reference. I still consider myself a newbie and this sure helps out, just flipping through it and finding out not only what new commands are, but how to use them as well (Though not always the best way to use them, for instance: there is an easier way to use tar then is documented). I do have one recommendation to make this great book better. Place the Linux command reference in the back of the book, this would make it easier to read the other 14 chapters, and make more sense to have the reference in the back. Just my .02!

Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

While this book is useful as a reference, the chapters on KDE, GNOME and FVWM2

assume the audience to be dumber than those who would actually buy the book. A chapter on XFree86 would be really beneficial. A reference book on GNU/Linux without a proper reference to XF86 is really unthinkable.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

I bought the second edition. It has useful information, but the book is disjointed.

The good news is that you can eventually find out how commands work and then use them effectively. The book does a fair job in this area.

The bad news is that often times you need to mix and match commands.

The book could be fixed in the following manner.

* List all commands alphabeticaly.

* List the grouped-subsections as indexes in the back.

* Expand on a "see-also" ability in the book.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

I have been using the Unix version for years(before they put animals on the front of it), and have been using the NT on also. This one ranks with them. This is the one reference I always keep handy. People tend to forget these books are meant for experienced users. I have met few people who can remember all the commands and switches. A dictionary won't tech you english but it will make the english you speak better and so it is with the nutshell books.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

The 1st Ed, '97 was uselessly sparse. An O'Reilly editing failure. The 3rd ed looks marginally better on the store shelf, but not informative enough to buy.

The UNIXy world uses many anti/non-mnemonics. "Arbitrary-grunts"are NOT a way for users to communicate! The 1st ed failed! It left me suspicious of the authors and the editors. X

Eg: The description of "tar" n doesn't give 'TapeARchive' as the source.

Eg: No explaination nor example of ".z" suffix. www.Whatis.techtarget.com even briefly mentions Lempel-Ziv.

If GNU/Linux is to continue expanding users need a little context for the argot!

O'Reilly needs to add an argot agent to its editing.

A 4th edition is needed.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

Greetings!

Love the book. Bought the second edition when I was new to Linux, and HAD to have the third just because. Considering the massive outbreak of Linux documentation offline recently, this is the one I would choose if I had to pick one.

Thanks again.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Linux in a Nutshell:

This book is excellent for the beginners and advanced. As usual O'Reilly delivers top-notch writing material on Linux. I highly recommend it to anyone new to Linux and even the experienced.