You may have seen Unix quick-reference guides, but you've never seen anything like UNIX in a Nutshell. Not a scaled-down quick reference of common commands, UNIX in a Nutshell is a complete reference containing all commands and options, along with generous descriptions and examples that put the commands in context. For all but the thorniest Unix problems, this one reference should be all the documentation you need. The third edition of UNIX in a Nutshell includes thorough coverage of System V Release 4. To that, author Arnold Robbins has added the latest information about:

• Sixty new commands in The Alphabetical Summary of Commands

• Solaris 7

• Shell syntax (sh, csh, and the 1988 and 1993 versions of ksh)

• Regular expression syntax

• vi and ex commands, as well as newly updated Emacs information

• sed and awk commands

• troff and related commands and macros, with a new section on refer

• make, RCS (version 5.7), and SCCS commands

In addition, there is a new Unix bibliography to guide the reader to further reading about the Unix environment. If you currently use Unix SVR4, or if you're a Solaris user, you'll want this book. UNIX in a Nutshell is the most comprehensive quick reference on the market, a must for any Unix user.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 58 Ratings

The only game in town, but... - 2008-05-15
Reviewer Rating:
I've got two versions of this book: the blue cover version and the one that came in my CD bookshelf. I'm usually quite positive about nutshell books. Usually.

While this is pretty much the only one-stop Unix reference in town when you don't have the man pages to hand, there are some perplexing omissions from the "unix command" section. Nothing to do with networking, for example. No netstat, ifconfig, nslookup. Odd, in a world when a non-networked computer is surely a rarity. Yes, the stuff is probably in the networking O'Reilly books (mine are on order as I type) but you'd think in this day and age...

Yesterday I was flipping through and noticed there was no entry for "mount" or "umount" either.

You should probably own one of these if you have a job in the Unix computing biz, but before long you might find yourself asking "what will I need today that won't be in a nutshell?"

Seriously, O'Reilly should be looking into rewriting this little gem to make it properly comprehensive again.

The perfect reference - 2008-09-05
Reviewer Rating:
This is in my opinion the best UNIX reference book on the market today. If you need to program or work in the OS you should own this book.

From a learner/user perspective - 2008-04-21
Reviewer Rating:
Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

Not a useful book for someone who wants to learn unix. It can be used for reference for someone who already knows UNIX. I bought it hoping that it will be a good introduction and summary. Disappointed.

A Desktop Constant - 2009-02-25
Reviewer Rating:
This is a great reference book. My only complaint is that I wish there was a section covering some BSD commands and in the sections already present, some networking commands as well (like another reader already mentioned). Otherwise a great all-around book.

A wonderful reference book about Unix OS - 2008-11-24
Reviewer Rating:
Let me start off by saying that if you are looking for a introductory book about Unix and you have no experience with Unix OS whatsoever, this is not a book for you. If you are new to Unix OS, then you should consider buying the O'Reilly book,"Learning the Unix Operating System."

Like the cover page says, this book is a reference book. This book covers GNU/Linux OS, Mac OS, Solaris OS, Unix commands, Bash Shells, Korn Shells, package management, emacs editor, and many other information that are very useful to Unix programmers, system administrators, and Unix users.

If you have a bit of experience with Unix, this book should be a must.

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