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UNIX Clearly Explained is an introduction to the UNIX operating system for end users. The book commences with an explanation of the role of operating systems and then moves on to "Getting Started," introducing the novice to the basic UNIX shell commands. It takes a quick detour through the fundamentals of Motif and OpenLook operations, returning to the command line for discussion of files and directories, file structure, the vi editor, shells, regular expressions, filters, and emacs. Most quotidian UNIX commands receive coverage.
UNIX Clearly Explained is targeted at commercial implementations of System V and BSD. HP and SCO users will probably find their environment most conforming to the environment envisaged by the author. It seems odd that the book does not mention Linux at all. Nowadays there is a good chance of Linux being the naive user's first introduction to UNIX.
The book might have been called Whirlwind Tour of Critical UNIX Features for Novice Users. Given the ambition of UNIX Clearly Explained and the scope of the discussion, the presentation is gratifyingly clear and readable, although it seems occasionally as if technical points Petersen is trying to make sometimes become submerged in the detailed explanations of what's happening in the example. There's a sort of breathless tone, as if Petersen is cognizant that each sentence could introduce an entire discussion on it own, but we're in a hurry, so let's get on to the next example.
Petersen teaches C programming and UNIX at University of California at Berkeley. He knows his subject thoroughly and has produced the sort of graduated treatment that my sister, who teaches business computing courses to indifferently educated but highly motivated minority young adults in East London, would find entirely serviceable, in that the text carries the reader gently from point to point without assuming any prior knowledge, or even much assistance from one's system administrator.
The computer expert, however, might find this volume tedious. There are any number of introductory UNIX books better aimed at the professional. They range from Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike's The UNIX Programming Environment (Prentice Hall, 1984) to the UNIX system library by Stephen G. Kochan and Patrick H. Wood (Hayden Books, 1990) and Stan Kelly-Bootle's much-translated Understanding UNIX (Sybex, 1994).
There are several possible uses for UNIX Clearly Explained. It can be employed in an introductory course. It can be bundled with a commercial UNIX system. I've found a use for my copy. A bright young lad down the street just discovered he can login across the net to a public access Sun system and asked me: Do you know anything about UNIX? I'm sure he'll be sped on his way by this helpful and positive resource.
-- Jack Woehr
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Explanation of ERCB rating scale: No stars = unacceptable, 1 Star = marginal, 2 Stars = average, 3 Stars = above average, 4 Stars = exceptional.