Mac OS X for UNIX Geeks

Amazon.com
It's about time: Mac OS X for Unix Geeks arrives on the scene none too soon for UNIX aficionados who, having heard that the latest editions of Mac OS are based on a UNIX variant, want to see how the platform compares to more venerable versions of the eminently configurable operating system. This book highlights some key differences between the Darwin environment and more conventional UNIXs, enabling people with UNIX experience to take advantage of it as they learn the Mac OS X way of doing things at the command line.

This skinny volume neither aims to teach its readers UNIX nor introduce them to the Mac, but rather to show how Apple has implemented UNIX. It's a fast read that assumes--as the title implies--rather a lot of UNIX knowledge. With that requirement satisfied and this book in hand, you're likely to discover aspects of Aqua more quickly than you otherwise would have.

The authors spend lots of time explaining how administrative tasks--such as managing groups, users, and passwords--are handled in the Mac OS environment. They document netinfo fully, and call attention to its limitations (like its inability to create home directories for users) by explaining how to do the job on the command line. They also cover C programming in the Darwin universe at greater length than any other book does, providing explicit instructions for such important tasks as creating header files and linking static libraries. A guide to the command line (they call the reference section--groan--"The Missing Manpages") provides good value at this book's conclusion. --David Wall

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Thousands of experienced Unix/Linux developers and power users are finding Mac OS X to be the slickest, most productive Unix they�ve ever seen. There�s now a perfect book for them.

O�Reilly�s Mac OS X for Unix Geeks brings together all the answers Unix/Linux pros will have about Mac OS X�s unique form of UNIX (essentially a full BSD implementation welded atop the Mach 3.0 kernel, with a tweaked VFS file system and BSD-based TCP/IP code).

Much of the Mac OS X �Darwin� environment will be familiar, but in many places you�ll have to �think different� -- at least a little. To begin with, Mac OS X Terminal -- your command line -- isn�t quite xterm. Some of the development tools you expect aren�t here (though many can be added via Apple�s Developer Tools).

You�ll find detailed coverage of startup (no /etc/inittab here); directory services (in 10.2, you can now handle configuration by editing standard Unix flat files); and compiling Unix source code (some significant improvisation is needed). There�s a full chapter on creating and installing binaries, plus detailed coverage of building the Darwin kernel (though you probably won�t need to). If you need X Windows (which isn�t present by default), you�ll learn how to install and configure it. Finally, there�s concise coverage of Mac OS X�s extensive library of system management and diagnostic tools.

If you�re coming to the Mac from Unix or Linux, you�ll find this book indispensable. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

If you're one of the many Unix developers drawn to Mac OS X for its BSD core, you'll find yourself in surprisingly unfamiliar territory. Even if you're an experienced Mac user, Mac OS X is unlike earlier Macs, and it's radically different from the Unix you've used before, too.

Enter "Mac OS X for Unix Geeks" by Brian Jepson and Ernest E. Rothman, two Unix geeks who found themselves in the same place you are. Their new book is your guide to figuring out the BSD Unix system and Mac-specific components that are making your life difficult and to help ease you into the Unix inside Mac OS X. This concise book includes such topics as: A quick overview of the Terminal application Understanding Open Directory (LDAP) and NetInfo Issues related to using the GNU C Compiler 9GCC Library linking and porting Unix software An overview of Mac OS X?s filesystem and startup processes Creating and installing packages using Fink Building the Darwin kernel Running X Windows 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 although there are no manpages.

If you find yourself disoriented by the new Mac environment, Mac OS X for Unix Geeks can help you acclimate yourself quickly to the familiar, yet foreign, Unix landscape.

SYNOPSIS