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Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks
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by Brian Jepson and Ernest E. Rothman
Sales Rank: 767765
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List Price: $24.95
$24.95
At Amazon
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Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 2nd edition December 1, 2003
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0596006071
ISBN-13: 978-0596006075
Product Dimensions:
9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
Product Description
With its rep for being the sort of machine that won't intimidate even the most inexperienced users, what's the appeal of the Mac® for hard-core geeks? The Mac has always been an efficient tool, pleasant to use and customize, and eminently hackable. But now with Mac OS® X's BSD core, many a Unix® developer has found it irresistible. The latest version of Mac OS X, called Panther, makes it even easier for users to delve into the underlying Unix operating system. In fact, you can port Linux® and Unix applications and run them side-by-side with your native Aqua® apps right on the Mac desktop. Still, even experienced Unix users may find themselves in surprisingly unfamiliar territory as they set out to explore Mac OS X. Even if you know Macs through and through, Mac OS X Panther is unlike earlier Macs, and it's radically different from the Unix you've used before. Enter Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks by Brian Jepson and Ernest E. Rothman, two Unix geeks who found themselves in the same place you are. The new edition of this book is your guide to figuring out the BSD Unix system and Panther-specific components that you may find challenging. This concise book will ease you into the Unix innards of Mac OS X Panther, covering such topics as: - A quick overview of the Terminal application, including Terminal alternatives like iTerm and GLterm
- Understanding Open Directory (LDAP) and NetInfo
- Issues related to using the GNU C Compiler (GCC)
- Library linking and porting Unix software
- An overview of Mac OS X Panther's filesystem and startup processes
- Creating and installing packages using Fink and Darwin Ports
- Building the Darwin kernel
- Using the Apple® X11 distribution for running X Windows® applications on top of Mac OS X
The book wraps up with a quick manpage-style reference to the "Missing Manual Pages" --commands that come with Mac OS X Panther, although there are no manpages. If you find yourself disoriented by the new Mac environment, Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks will get you acclimated quickly to the foreign new areas of a familiar Unix landscape.
About The Author
Brian Jepson is an O'Reilly editor, programmer, and co-author of Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks and Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther. He's also a volunteer system administrator and all-around geek for AS220, a non-profit arts center in Providence, Rhode Island. AS220 gives Rhode Island artists uncensored and unjuried forums for their work. These forums include galleries, performance space, and publications. Brian sees to it that technology, especially free software, supports that mission.
Ernest Rothman is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Salve Regina University (SRU), where he is also Chair of the Mathematical Sciences Department as well as Manager of the Computational Science Program. Before SRU, Ernie held the position of Research Associate at the Cornell Theory Center at Cornell University. Ernie holds a PhD degree in Applied Mathematics from Brown University. His academic interests are primarily in Scientific Computing, and Computational Science Education
Customer Reviews & Comments
This second edition is a substantial upgrade in both content, and clarity of prose. The technical depth that was a little overwhelming in the second section has been smoothed over and some parts have been moved out of the core of the book and into the appendices. The unique value of the book is in it's ability to anticipate and answers the questions of Unix users who are looking to migrate to OS X, and in that it performs very well. Ever question I had in moving from Linux to OS X is answered in this well-organized work. The book starts with the Terminal and how it can be tweaked or even replaced. It then covers the unique startup and directory services. Other user level services and applications are covered, but I liked the last section on third party tools the best. That chapter alone would have saved me a lot of time before I bought the book. The second section covers building applications on the unix layer and this edition adds a chapter on Perl which is excellent. The coverage of Fink, which is a critical, if poorly named, tool for OS X has been greatly improved in this edition. The fourth section, on databases, is well-written and is a nice-to-have to for readers, but it probably not exactly in line with the book as it's not significantly different with OS X. If you are switching from any unix to OS X you will find this book a well written and invaluable accelerators to get out over the hump of getting the right tools and finding what and where to tweak.
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Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks
List Price: $24.95
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Price: $24.95
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