Reviews for Linux Pocket Guide (Pocket Guide: Essential Commands)

1. Linux Pocket Guide

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, April 12nd, 2010

   For those starting out on Linux in 2010 this book may seem a little unnecessary, as many Linux distributions such as Mint work straight out of the box with little need for command line intervention. However to understand the underlying structure of Linux and to know how to create folders, delete folders, change rules, mount volumes etc the "old fashioned way" this guide will usually provide the answer. If you get the advice from the internet the book will provide an explanation of what those shell commands mean. At this price (half price) it's a bargain.

2. Not as useful as I thought

   Rated 2 out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2010

   I thought this would be a superb little guide, but in actuality it isnt as good as using the online "man" functionality. personally i find the commands in the book to be not as well explained as they shoudl be (even in a pocket guide). Could well be just me though, although several of the guys here have said the same thing.

3. Great Linux reference (or refresher)

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, February 12th, 2010

   I have used Unix (specifically AIX) in the past - quite a while ago now, and now have a need to use Linux. I bought this book to give me a refresher - it is surprising how much I actually remembered. I have used this in conjunction with an Ubuntu Linux distribution I have installed.
   
   This book is a useful size although calling it a pocket guide is a bit optimistic (7" x 4.25"). All the same it is light and doesn't take up much space on the shelf, desk or in the laptop bag. It contains all of the most common/useful commands for everyday use - and is perfect for the newbie and experienced person alike. This style of reference guide suits me, as I can look specifically for what I need, rather than trawl through acres of text to find the nugget I'm looking for.
   
   If you have NEVER used linux before, and are not comfortable with using a command line interface (such as the CMD window on XP/Vista/W7), then maybe this is not the first book you should buy. However for everyone else, it is ideal. Once again O'Reilly adds another excellent reference book to it's list.

4. Linux Starting Points

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, August 12th, 2009

   Concise and too the point. I don't use Linux as much as I used to but when I do, this is where I start. Cannot fault it much for starting points when Linux problem solving.

5. Works for everyone & most mainstream flavours of Linux

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, April 12th, 2008

   So many books are thick, wordy, and conceal their nuggets of wisdom, but not this one. It's not big, so you won't find full details on (eg) all of the many Linux email clients - but they get a mention.
   Works well for me (ex BSD 4.x sysop in the 1980s) as well as friends with no previous knowledge of operating systems. It's the examples that are such a help - most of the things we've needed to do are covered with a brief, relevant example. We use it with Ubuntu mainly - Debian distros are not identical to Fedora but we've not seen a problem - both are Linux and conform to the POSIX standard.
   Reading it cover-to-cover is logical, informative, and highly recommended. Three times, and the info is starting to stick..... Then keep it handy to look things up when you need them! Highly recommended.