> The Unix Programming Environment
How does this compare to The Art of Unix Programming, if you've read both?
How does this compare to The Art of Unix Programming, if you've read both?
I’m kind of annoyed by the bait and switch of the title. It’s a play on Knuth’s classic but then turns into showing why Unix/Linux is better than Windows, etc.
As a disclaimer: I really don’t respect ESR and his work, and admire Brian Kernighan immensely. Very odd to be in a situation where those names are put side by side. Just want to call out that I do have bias on the people here. Don’t want to get into why as that’s not constructive.
The book I recommended is both a handbook and a “how to think.” It applies forward to things introduced well after the book. But it also helped me understand why the Byzantine behavior of a tty is what it is.
If you are interested in the history from a first person perspective, I do recommend Kernighan’s “Unix: A History and a Memoir”. He went from originally trying to write something objective to realizing it was necessarily his personal experience. Even the culture aspect of his story has influenced how I try to foster teamwork. It was an engaging read for me.
Some bits are better than others, some bits haven't aged too well in the last 20 years, and it's a shame esr has since turned crazy. But I still feel the book holds up reasonably well.
"Bait and switch" certainly seems too strong of an accusation, especially for a book that's available for free.
I do agree that even pre-crazy esr was never on the level of Kernighan in any way.