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How do I learn Unix on my Mac?

Dave, I'd really like to learn more about how to work with the Unix operating system that's buried in my Macintosh, now that I have Mac OS X Tiger on my G5. What do you recommend as a resource? And how easy is it to learn Unix anyway?

Dave's Answer:

Wow! Did I pay you to ask this question? :-)

It just so happens that my brand new book Learning Unix for Mac OS X Tiger came out this week from O'Reilly Media and it's a superb starting point for people who want to learn more about Darwin, the Unix variant that's included with Mac OS X Tiger.

Here's a gratuitous cover shot, just because the baby tiger on the cover is so darn cute:

More seriously, the book covers everything you need to know about Unix within Tiger, starting with a detailed look at how to work with - and customize - the Terminal application (which is where you'll type in your Unix commands, it's found in Applications --> Utilities --> Terminal) then exploring file permissions, directories, text editing, searching for files, how to work with spotlight from the command line, shell script programming, the X Window System, and even explores the fink command too!

O'Reilly has made a sample chapter available too: Taking Unix Online (chapter 8, this is a PDF).

Finally, just a reminder for my faithful readers: We have review copies of the book available to anyone who has a publishing venue: if you're interested, please don't hesitate to contact me directly with your request! And, yes, widely read blogs count as a publishing venue too, of course.

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Categorized: Mac OS X Help (Article 4021)
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