I purchased this book as a quick reference that has enough detailed explanation.
It does exactly that - but only for a limited number of system calls/commands.
And for others, they aren't even mentioned.
I guess it might be a good "beginner" book, but not a reference.

I'm not a heavy duty shell programmer... Perl, and especially Python, are my preferred scripting languages. However, every once in a while the appropriate tool for the job is a shell script.

I've found that this book covers all the bases, but doesn't go deep. I was frustrated by the book yesterday when I need to write a script to check all the executable files in a directory for what libraries they were linked to.

On page 172 the author says: "Because manipulating files is so important in programming, the Korn shell provies a whole range of file operators." Absolutely right. He then shows examples of only 5 of the tests in small code examples. No others are mentioned or even alluded to. My "Learning Perl" book (O'Reilly) has a table listing 25 file tests (including the one I needed).

I also needed to do some string comparisons and manipulations. A pretty common task. Head for the index and look for entries for "string". You get one: string length.

What is in the book is well presented and an easy read, but the lack of depth will limit your productivity.

This book has several code examples broken down into their smallest form. It has an easy to read, easy to learn lay-out. It is a great book for beginners to read or for experts to use as a reference. This is the best computer book which I have ever bought.

Monsieur Bonnard is absolutely, utterly adorable! He is wise, witty, imaginative- the embodiement of good- yet totally unaware of it. Anatole France has created an extremely real character, some even say it is Anatole projecting himself into the future as an old man. The work is humorous and sincere. The translation I used was by Lafcadio Hearn and seemed to me one of the better ones.

People who write compter books often make one classic error -- in explaining a topic they refer to other commands and topics briefly, with no explanation. If you are new to the subject you are left bewildered. If you have some experience you know what they are talking about.

Apparently most authors find it impossible to comprehend that people are reading their books to learn. They write as if people already understand most of the material.

This is a good book if you already have worked with another book on shell programming, have taken a class or have some experience. But if you are just starting out try Teach Yourself Shell Programming in 24 Hours. The author of the 24 Hours book has the rare ability to have each of the chapters cover one topic, without dropping references to other topics he has yet to explain, so you keep learning and learning, one thing at a time.

If you already have a knowledge of the basics this is a good book. I found many of the explanations to be clear and crisp, and understood with ease a few things I was fuzzy on. But that was only because I already had enough knowledge so that when the author just dropped some command into the discussion without explaining it, I already knew the command so I could follow along.

This is a great book. It has a couple of typos, but nothing major (although it may confuse a few novices). If you need a book that gives you all the syntax and commands for programming the korn shell then I would recommend this.

This is the best Korn Shell book I've seen I presently have at least 5 different books on shell programming in Unix. I actually was able to read this book cover to cover AND am able to use this as a reference. The O'Reilly Korn shell book is good BUT, you have to read TOO MUCH to find what you're looking for. I found this book to be very complete.

My father has macular degeneration and I'd like to get this book for him. But why isn't it available on tape or in a large print version?

I am writing to proclaim the importance of having this particular book on audio tape! It seems a natural; I want my Father, who has macular degeneration, to hear this story. Can you help me get this request to the right place? MAH

My mother has macular degeneration and needed this book on tape. .... My mom found the book to be very helpful. I also read it to try to understand better what she deals with every day. She also purchased 2 copies of the book in hardcover for her eye specialists. Although they know all the medical information already, the book can give them insight into their patient's plight. I recommend the book to anyone who knows or works with someone with low vision.

Its a useful little book. Indexing could be better.

I now code in ksh on a daily basis. This handy little reference follows the organization of Olczak's excellent book "The Korn Shell User and Programming Manual" which I learned from. I only occasionally have to refer back to documentation and his Quick Reference Guide is just the ticket. My copy has a lot of yellow highlighter and margin notes. The previous reviewer's complaint about lack of an index is valid but since the Guide is only 44 pages it's not much of concern. Once you become a regular ksh coder you'll find the Guide indispensable. I have.

It's quite hard to find a concise reference guide for the Korn Shell nowadays, so I was eager to have a look at this one. The size of the book is perfectly well suited for being used as a quick desktop reference. The booklet is very useful to be sure. It's much easier to lookup something here than browsing through long manual pages. This is especially true if you know what you're looking for. My first attempts to find something weren't so successful. I don't really know what's wrong with the structure of the book, but it isn't structured in such an intuitive way as I would expect. After a few days of usage things get better. A definitive drawback is the complete lack of an index. If you're looking for something specific most of the time you end up thumbing through the whole thing.

The Reference Guide is quite complete. Eventually I was nearly always able to find what I was looking for and a great deal more. The complete shell script examples at the end of the book are very helpful. If you don't find something in the reference part it is at least somewhere in the examples. There aren't many of them out there, but those included are really helpful.

James Gibbons Huneker's "Egoists" is a diverting compilation of essays, exploring the personalities and lives of some of the greatest artists, poets, litteratures, philosophers and mystics who have advocated the creed of individualism, in opposition to the sentiments of equality, brotherly love and socialism. The essays combine entertainingly critical and analytical insights with a melodic prose style characterised by a sweep and grandeur of rhetoric, and many a flowery turn of phrase. A little dated, perhaps, but fun.

This is Anatole France's cautionary tale about ideological fanaticism during the "terror" of the French revolution. It is doubly remarkable in that it was published in the decade prior to the Soviet seizure of power, which imposed decades of political terror in Russia as we know, and in that France was a well-known member of the left. Thus, academics rightfully proclaim it as a symbol of the horrors to follow in the 20C.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book very much. Not only is its tone self-important with ponderous and ever-present references to classical mythology - the myth of Orestes as well as the savage bacchantes - but its innumerable references to obscure figures of the French Revolution, in all their historical accuracy, make it, well, just plain boring. Moreover, the characters appear more like symbols of abstract ideas than flesh-and-blood creatures, and so are both unrealistic psychologically as well as put in situations in which they can carry out long and improbably philosophic discussions.

The plot follows the impoverished members of an apartment building during a time of grave threat to the revolution. There is a fervent young man (a painter), his missing sister (shacked up with an aristocrat), his simple mother, and an older cynic atheist (an ex-courtesan and libertine), who gives refuge to a persecuted priest and innocent peasant girl. As the revolution takes an increasingly murderous turn, they become ever more intimately involved with each other as vehicles to portray historical events.

As such, the book seems to be written for the French high school student, all of whom memorize survey literature from secondary sources to pass rigorous examinations. This makes them able to spout facts as if they had read widely, implying depth and thoughtfulness that all too often isn't there. Of course, France obviously has great depth and his historical research is indeed exhaustive, which taught me a great deal. But the book just didn't make me feel like I was there, which was why I read it. Instead, while reading I felt like I was studying for a high school exam.

As I try to get through the classic authors, I am occasionally surprised at the banality and dullness of some of the most famous works. Perhaps this is because I read them from a rather naïve perspective, open and as if they are not revered for whatever, but just as a pure reading experience. Thus, my perceptions are personal and limited to my own experience. While the overwhelming majority of classics are truly wonderful, this one was not.

Recommended only for history buffs and students of French lit.

I'll be frank here - I had never even heard of Anatole France before I read "The Gods Will Have Blood." Frankly, though, I don't think I was missing much. That's not to say that the novel is entirely without merit. It offers an amazingly detailed description of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, and the dialogue between the antireligious Brotteaux and the kindly Father Longuemare is well written and engrossing.

Nevertheless, "The Gods Will Have Blood" fails in several obvious ways. The characters are static and typecast - Anatole France might as well have hung a sign on Gamelin that reads "EVIL" and be done with it. In fact, the novel is almost completely lacking in subtlety, both in terms of the plot and the characterization as well. Also, the writing style on display here is quite monotonous. The introduction claims that it is "polished perfection", but to me it seems more nondescript and generic than anything else.

"The Gods Will Have Blood" is, indeed, quite informative about the French Revolution. Unfortunately, historical accuracy doesn't automatically make for a great novel.

Anatole France's "The Gods Will Have Blood" (1912) is a meditation on the price of unbridled fanaticism. Several key personages and events of the French Revolution figure in the story; most notibly Maximllien Robespierre and the death of Jean-Paul Marat.

But don't expect exquisite characterizations, ala Flaubert, Dostoyevski, Henry James or James Joyce. Such was not France's aim. This is a cautionary tale; one that recapitulates Robespierre, the Terror and Napoleon, and prefigures the Soviets and the Nazis.

In fact, France's articulation of the maddening rationale by fanatical judges--that it is they, not their victims, who suffer as they go about the bloody work of enforcing national policies with the murder of perceived enemies--is visited through concentration camp butcher Rudolph Hoess in William Styron's "Sophie's Choice" (1976).

Only the translation prevents this novel from five stars. Given the fact that French is second only to ancient Greek in terms of damage from translation, and it becomes a minor complaint.

This is a novel by a master (Anatole France won the Nobel for Lit in 1921). Read this book; it's an education.

This quick reference doesn't do you any good. It's just as quick to look up something in a normal reference, not to mention a normal reference will provide you with more information. Everytime I tried to use this book, I had to go to my other reference because this "quick reference" didn't have the information I was looking for. Save your money and buy O'Reilly's Definitive Guide.

The book itself is average...though...some scripts were not working and/or only working with IE or NS.

They advertize a link for downloadable scripts. Unfortunately, there are no scripts on their link.

CONCLUSION: You can find better books than this one, dealing with the same subject !