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Linux Programming By Example
There are plenty of books on this topic as any trip to the bookstore will show. Where this book excels compared with other Linux programming books is its consistent focus throughout. Other books tend to explain a multitude of concepts without relating them back to a real-world example. In Linux Programming By Example, the author introduces a concept, and explains it with an example. In the last chapter, the author integrates the knowledge he's presented, utilizing many of the book's concepts in building a simple CD-Database program. Of course, not all of the concepts relate to the final CD database (The chapters TCP/IP Programming, The Sound API and Using the Mouse are not referred to in the final program), but it's helpful for beginning programmers unsure how all of these pieces fit in the bigger picture of a working program.
Begin at the beginning
Linux Programming By Example begins with topics that don't get covered until the end of many books. The book starts by discussing how to use GCC and make on a Linux machine, and how to create a Makefile. It's always puzzled me why some books don't cover the compiler or the make process until the end of the book. What's the point in that? Granted, chapters in debugging and RCS are left to the end of the book, but presenting key concepts in the development process early in the book helps the reader to get a better feel for how all of these concepts interrelate in a Linux/UNIX environment.
Moving forward
From the basics of compilation and making programs, the book moves to the basics of a Linux system in Part II: System Programming. This is where the book truly shines. In the section on processes, Wall discusses the elements that make up a process, how to manipulate a process, and why you would want to do this anyway. The book assumes no prior UNIX knowledge, but doesn't plod along like most introductory texts. In the section on signals, the book defines what signals are, early signal APIs and their issues, POSIX and Linux signal APIs, and how to use signals and signal sets. In this chapter, the author not only lists the signals supported by the Linux system, but also other signals supported by POSIX and other UNIX systems. While this might sound confusing, the author takes time out to explain which signals are really important in a Linux environment. This is a key reason why this book retains its readability without losing depth. Each chapter in the System Programming portion of the book retains this format -- not only demonstrating what the topic is, but also where this fits in a Linux/UNIX system and why you would even bother to know this in the first place.
What's good?
Linux Programming By Example is clearly aimed at getting programmers up to speed on not only programming Linux systems, but also POSIX based systems. Wherever possible, the author makes a point of pointing out the POSIX way. This book could have been easily called POSIX Programming by Example. The author also makes no bones about implementation issues with Linux and the POSIX or System V way of implementation. The book clearly states where Linux falls short of the full POSIX standard, and where pitfalls with porting code from other systems may occur. It's a refreshing change from other beginner texts which assume the reader will discover these pitfalls on their own.
So what's in it for me?
If you're looking for a quick, effective way to get up to speed in Linux and UNIX programming without breaking the bank, Linux Programming by Example is the book to take you there. This book is designed for programmers who are familiar with programming on other systems but haven't dealt with Linux before.
You might have trouble locating this book, since QUE let it lapse for a while, but there should be another batch hitting stores soon. You won't be disappointed.
You can purchase Linux Programming By Example from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
But where is the 'Reading By Example' that tells you how to read this book?
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
I've always liked the the red books.
B&N
I've been looking forward to a book like this - I hope it'll wean me off my years of windows programming and step up into the majors...
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
The current Linux programming wisdom comes from Richard Stevens, a know-nothing hack who spends more time talking about the out-dated concept of filesystem permissions and socket programming than he spends on GUI design! I mean, for crying out loud, Dick, this is the Aughts! We "aught" to be optimizing for the user experience, not ivory tower "engineering principles"!
Anyway, throw away your copy of Linux Kernel Internals because this book replaces it...and then some!
This Book Was published in 1999.
It might be a little outdated. This review seems to be a couple of years late
I just thought I'd get that in before the morons come climbing out of the woodwork and start demonstrating their complete inability to code.
Advanced Linux Programming, from CodeSourcery/New Riders. It wasn't a "beginning/intro" book but still very easy to read and quite informative. Lots of great code samples too. The finale of the book is actually coding a bare-bones http server.
Easy guys, I put my pants on one leg at a time. The difference is after I put on my pants I make gold records!
I've used two Linux programming books, and would recommend both: 1. "Linux Application Development" by Johnson and Troan. A bit more advanced than "Linux Prog by Example," but I was able to use it effectively coming from NO linux/UNIX programming experience. 2. "Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment" by Stevens. An excellent reference.
Who is Example? Is that some kind of hacker nick? What qualifications does he/she have to write a book about Linux programming? I'm confused!
Its nice to have an acceptable concise and accurate book that holds your hand through learning how to program in *nix. Programming is one clear advantage that *nix has over windows, especially since the tools are free and come installed by default.
--Kevin
... the hideously ugly, deformed mutant greaseballs on the covers.
At least, that's why I buy WROX Press publications. I've got a whole library, and it looks like the bleedin' Chernobyl yearbook exploded on my bookshelf.
Because in programming as in many other things, you gnerally need more than one book.
My other Slashdot ID is much lower.
I've been looking for something exactly like this. But when I went to www.bn.com is says the book was published in 1999? As far as C++ has come in that time wouldn't this book be outdated? I just upgraded to Mandrake 9 that comes with gcc 3.2 so this book might not be Standard C++?
I would like to point out that I know this book is for Programming in general not specific to C++ but still if there were examples they could be wrong.
Abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit.
I have always found that the best way to manage a team is by example. First person who breaks the build, smash his hands. Second person, shoot in the head... sure enough everyone learns from that example and works extra hard.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Probably the most evil and wonderful thing of programming in *nix environments.
I am going to get this book because it covers make in the begining. I have always had trouble getting my makefiles to work properly in the few instances of linux programming that I have done. And even then I copied an existing one and adjusted it to my needs.
I suppose the "there is only 1 makefile" saying exists for a reason...
"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away" -Tom Waits
The link to BN.com doesn't have the book in stock, get it at amazon.com instead, only $9
Don't prototype main like that. You've obviously been told to prototype your functions, but you don't really understand why, do you?
You didn't check the return value of printf.
Your indentation style sucks.
I just thought I'd get that in before the morons come climbing out of the woodwork and start demonstrating their complete inability to code.
Hey, you got First Moron!
Aarrgggh....
int main(int argc, char *argv[]);
Will never forgive Stroustrup for foisting this char* nonsense on the world. Consider the following:
char* x, y; <--- What's y?
char *x, y; >--- Ah, now I know
I have this book, and I definetly would not give it a 9/10. The text is plagued with errors. Most of them are corrected easily enough, but it is still a hassle to type in some sample code and not even be able to compile it without debugging first. To make matters worse, the url in the book given to download the sample code (and the errata) doesn't work. Take a look at some of the amazon reviews to gauge popular opinion on the book. I picked up my copy on sale for $10 at frys, but I would wait for a second edition or look at another book if you're planning to pay full price.
I don't know about other readers, but when I hear that a book has a section on Makefiles, I really wonder whether it is specialized and focused on a specific programming area (as "Linux Porgramming" would suggest), assuming general programming knowledge, or whether it is a general programming book aimed at capitalizing on interest in the particular subject area. Sounds like it is the latter. Is the book more about "Linux programming", or more about "programming on machines that happen to be running Linux" ??
Here's the acid test, does it contain a "Hello world" program or something similarly trivial ?
I mean, there I was, trying to order some good old liver and onions, or maybe a nice Steak & Kidney pudding
No self-respecting Italian would eat at a restaraunt that served liver & onions and steak & kidney pudding.
That must be the reason you people have rotten, brown teeth.
I would hardly call Rich Stevens a 'know-nothing hack'. I doubt that he will be complying with your request since he died in 1999.
Half.Com
You keep going until you die..."Me".
Can we stop saying "Programming Linux" or "Programming Unix" and start saying "Programming _in_ Linux" or "Programming _in_ Unix"? The former makes me think this is a book on programming an operating system.
I've been looking for good working examples of source code for Linux programs.
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
Amazon: Used & New from $8.49 [referral]
B&N: Not Stocked [referral]
Bookpool: Not Stocked
Looks like the best bet is going to be half.com or a used bookstore - kind of an old text.
BE SILENT spawn of MSCE! A good user experience is dependent on a good design. A bad GUI in a good design can be replaced/redesign easily. A good GUI in bad design is hopeless.
It is just like a woman - you need a good body for that pretty face. (Thats the best analogy I could think of. It is not very good, however. I don't think it is easy to replace the head... No matter how good the body might be)
Clearly he was IN an Italian Restaurant, hence why they were trying to feed him pizza. Idiot.
The current Linux programming wisdom comes from Richard Stevens, a know-nothing hack who spends more time talking about the out-dated concept of filesystem permissions and socket programming than he spends on GUI design! I mean, for crying out loud, Dick, this is the Aughts! We "aught" to be optimizing for the user experience, not ivory tower "engineering principles"!
Linux programs are by and large written in c and c++. These require very little UNIX knowledge as Linux is built for portability. The "current Linux programming wisdom" comes from a variety of places not from one place. I learned C on my one and what I know of OS design I learned from Tanenbaum. "Engineering principles" can be used while designing for user experience, if they are not the end result is an OS that crashes when a program errors out (remember Commodore 64?).
He's very obviously being sarcastic. If nothing else, the line about how a beginner's book on linux should replace books on the kernel (specifically "Linux Kernel Internals") should make that blatent. Perhaps YHBT. More likely, you somehow missed the sarcasm or are trolling yourself. Regardless, HAND.
The Wrox P2P title Beginning Linux Programming, by Richard Stones and Neil Matthew, covers some similar ground: makefiles, shell scripts, some basic C, Perl and TCL (not really basic - they show you how to use these languages to do some typical linux-y things, rather than explain about structs and scalars), an introduction to GTK and a chapter at the end on writing device drivers. If you're an intermediate-level programmer unfamiliar with Linux as a programming environment, this book offers a good way in; recommended for VB weenies with a conscience.
Experience is a hard school, but fools will learn no other.
Yeah, that was a great book. I tried the motor rev mod on one of my 752i, but the example in the book had a bug in it, and my car exploded.
Sig for sale or rent. One previous user. Inquire within.
Discusses how LINUX works at the system level by learning how and when to manipulate processes, send and catch signals, and use calls, and how to manipulate and read pipes and FIFOs.
This book actually sounds really good, for advanced and beginner programmers that are new to linux/unix...
Man, did everyone just go to Amazon and order this? Read BN was out, now Amazon - I was lucky enough to get one for ~$14; seems like every time I added to my cart a book was gone a few seconds later. Damn, this is the first time I've seen inventory slashdotted. :)
I didn't know that the "standard store linkage" to Amazon contains BShive's associates ID.
I can't stand these Slashdot readers who try to make it look like they're posting something for the benefit of the community, when all they're doing is trying to trick people into sending commissions their way.
Somebody pleae moderate this BShive guy down. What a scumbag.
Uhm.... is the parent post +4 informative or +4 sarcastic?
I have another book for beginners called "Beginning Linux Programming" by Wrox press. It too had an example of a CD database. I guess CD databases make great real life examples.
"Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
it looks like everyone is buying up all the copies. i'm sure amazon uk will be selling out soon too, but it cost me $13 including shipping to california.
and as an added bonus you get to read everything with an english accent.
Neither outstanding or terrible, it ranks as a decent, average book on programming on the linux system. Although I would recommend Beginning Linux Programming by Wrox over this one, based solely on the fact that it covers so much more material in roughly the same amount of detail. Still, Linux Programming By Example costs a little bit less (at least when I got it), and while the Wrox book covers more, LPbE does cover a few things that the Wroc book doesn't.
On the whole I would say it really deserves a 6.5 or a 7. It's worth getting if you're looking to learn about programming on a POSIX system, but if you already have a book on the topic, you might want to save your money.
I'd reccomend "The Unix Programming Environment". Despite being written in 1978, it's still an extremely good introductory text.
"Engineering principles" can be used while designing for user experience, if they are not the end result is an OS that crashes when a program errors out (remember Commodore 64?).
Remember Windows? You know, there are a lot of slashdotters that simply aren't old enough to remember the C-64. Around here you might as well say "Remember the PDP-7?" I mean, geez, you could at least use an example people can relate to!
(FWIW, I am old enough to remember the C-64, but I never used one. I was too busy hacking Basic on my TRS-80 (the cartridge slot didn't work, so there was nothing else I could do with it!). In fact, the only Commodores I ever used were the PET in my 4th grade classroom and my friend's Amiga 1000 (now that was a sweet machine!))
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
You can purchase Linux Programming By Example from bn.com
I started to purchase books from Amazon.com once I realized that BN doesn't post bad reviews. Maybe they do now though.
As much as Amazon may have patented a stupid thing, they don't seem to censor comments. Many books have many bad comments. And, that is why I am happy to buy from them.
Have you read my journal today?
No. +4 Troll.
Best Slashdot Co
"Help me, I can't get out of this nutshell."
*sorry Austin*
If your getting modded down it's because you bring nothing to the table. Take for example your post here:
subject: who would want to program for linux?
you don't get paid..
First, that's a troll if we ever saw one. Because 1) there are millions upon millions who program for linux now. 2) they do it for fun, not money. 3) some do it for money too. 4) some do it just for the money. 5) who ever wrote a program they got rich off of? Careful here, remember that Bill Gates bought his first program to sell, and stole many others (or built on the work of others) after that. Microsoft makes money by SELLING software. Not writing it. There is a significant and subtle difference.
Moving on:
Welcome to America, land of capitalism..Is Microsoft hiring?
If I'm not mistaken, America is the land of the free, not the land of capitalism. Capitalism (in it's purest form) has nothing to do with money. A capitalist form of finance stops being capitalism as soon as any one person or company has the ability to create an artificial barrier to competition (and that's whether or not they do actually create the barrier - it just has to be possible). In short - Capitalism depends on a free market, which you don't have if there are barriers to competition in an industry. So much for America being the land of Capitalism. Indeed, you misunderstand capitalism entirely. Capitalism centers around the individual. The individual has the final say and right in _any_ situation - Microsoft on the other hand is anti-capitalist in that whatever the programmer makes belongs to the company he works for. This is a violation of the programmers right to do what they want their own ideas. For example, if you helped write Microsoft's media-player, and had an ingenious idea on how to do it better, you could not leave the company and create this new player based on the knowledge you gained at Microsoft. You'd get sued into oblivion, even if you didn't use Microsofts IP to do it.
The GPL on the other hand entitles the original author some degree of control over his work - if you wrote the original you (the individual) have the right to use the GPL or not (you can even re-licence _your own_ code to companies who don't want the restrictions of the GPL... just make sure it's ALL your code that your re-licencing), and entitles you (the individual) to place restrictions on how your work is used. Get it? Capitalism depends on the individual having rights that supercede the greater interest. Corporations supercede the right of the individual for the good of the company.
And finally, if Microsoft is hiring, what difference does that make to you? Even Microsoft has standards.
My cube. My friend. My solace. My prison.
Bought it back in 2K, definately a good read (and helpfull). Having a chapter on NCurses and screen manipulation was a bonus.
One of the flaws that I've found while dealing with Linux - and to a lesser extend, the BSDs - is that they lack a comprehensive API. Having a solid API framework is one of the reasons that Windows and the Macintosh OS have been so successful.
One of the hurdles that Linux has been unable to overcome is the fact that the various parts of the OS are kludges together. There is no synergy. X for example isn't well integrated into the rest of the OS. Consequently one winds up with inconsitent behavior: Sometimes right clicking cuts-and-pastes; othertimes it doesn't. There are other examples of this. A quick search of Google can help you find them.
I would like to see Linux succeed. Hopefully the main development team will work on getting a solid API in place so that when I develop for Linux I can spend my time writing my program, not writing code that should already exist.
Thanks,
ET
C - A language that combines the speed of assembly with the ease of use of assembly.
One makefile to rule them all
One makefile to find them
One makefile to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them
Don't get mad. It was either that or "All your makefile are belong to us."
"I think so, Brain, but 'instant karma' always gets so lumpy." - Pinky
"Decepticons FOREVER!!!" - Ravage
I'm very surprised to see a good review of a QUE book. I find that the ones I've read - and that includes a QUE book of which I was one of several authors - are pretty dire.
The problem with QUE books (and other Macmillan Computer Publishing imprints) is attention to detail. Their production processes tend to introduce errors (for example, by loading the text into Word and having it change all the backticks to apostrophes - that happened to me!). Also, they don't usually seem to do reprints correcting errors, they just seem either to produce a new edition ("Special Edition", whatever) with a "Featuring FooMatic 97!" badge on the cover.
Another problem with QUE books is that they just tend to be written and published too fast - no time for doing a good job.
I should emphasise that Macmillan Computer Publishing, who produce QUE books, are as far as I know completely unrelated to the British publisher, Macmillan.
Disclaimer: You should know that I've had a bad experience as a contributing author of several MCP books, and have vowed not to have anything to do with them again. So as you can see I'm very biased against them. I have not read the "Linux Programming by Example" book and indeed haven't made any comments about this book in particular.
Hey, I didn't post the parent, but damn it, moderators, get a sensoe of humor. The comment was not off topic, it was a JOKE.
Maybe slashdot needs a "-1, Joke not funny" mod.
Remember Windows? You know, there are a lot of slashdotters that simply aren't old enough to remember the C-64. Around here you might as well say "Remember the PDP-7?" I mean, geez, you could at least use an example people can relate to!
Well, if you mention windows or Linux you have stuck yourself in one group and joined an ideological argument as far as most are concerned. Also, fwiw, I have never met any serious computer enthusiast who did not know what C 64 was.
all fancied up ;)
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
heh.. I know what you mean.. Almost every coding book I've read since C++ came around has had the asterisk up against the descriptor instead of with the actual variable. I HATE that...
even Hungarian Notation isn't as irritating as that.
-- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
Overall, I'm satisfied with this book, but there are a few annoyances:
*When they say "by example", they mean it! The discussions are quite brief - most of the book is sample code.
*I could do without the chapter on makefiles. It's not very informative and doesn't mention GNU autotools. You're much better off RFTM.
*Likewise, the RCS chapter is a waste. Does anybody actually use RCS anymore?
*The information on Berkeley DB is very outdated.
The rest of the book is quite useful, but I'd recommend the Linux Programming Bible instead.
I'm not sure what you're talking about. Your makeshift example about clipboards only tells us that different programs behave differently. I've seen Windows programs that didn't support copy-paste, albeit rarely - it's not an OS feature. And this has nothing to do with the OS (as in Operating System), but everything to do with a graphical user session and inconsistencies found there, which are admittedly a major problem for Linux in the desktop market.
When you talk about Linux's API, you're on fuzzy ground. Do you mean the kernel, or possibly libc6 or some other centrally standardized libraries? Or all of them together? Which libraries, in that case?
If you're worried about reinventing the wheel, don't be. Linux is equipped with pretty standard libraries that do much more than stock Windows libraries do. You just need to know which library contains the functionality you need. Just like in Windows, except you'll need to start making your own code much later, since the libraries provide you with much more ready-made functionality.
Anyway, the library APIs are free (as in speech) for one thing! You can actually look at the source and see that the method the API documentation talked about actually exists, and you can see exactly what it does.
Of the thousands of Windows libraries, only a portion is documented. MS has huffed and puffed this autumn and released several hundred new libraries with press releases to boost. But still parts of Windoze are undocumented to the developers at large. And rare are the people who have actually seen the source code that makes up even a minor part of Windows. And you call this a "solid API"?
You, too, can program for 0.24% of desktop users instead of 95% of desktop users.
Welcome to the "big leagues."
It is not illegal to do so. I can declare main() as
if I wish to ignore argc and argv of course. I can also omit the forward declaration of main() as you suggest. All are legal.
You didn't check the return value of printf.
Indeed, a fair point. However, I do not care about the return value of printf() and it is legal for me to ignore the return value if I wish.
Your indentation style sucks.
Ahhh, the 1TBS flame. Indentation was missing due to Slashdot striping my spaces I was using to indent the code block. If you have a clever way of placing tabs or non-breaking spaces inside of ecode tags, please let me know.
For your pleasure, a corrected version:
This can be compiled with
gcc slash.c -Wall -O3 --ansi --pedantic -o slash
Without error or warning. Enjoy!
I will never buy a QUE book. They publish a lot of "me too" crap, so they can jump on the bandwagon and make money off of whatever is the hot new thing. New Riders and Wrox, on the other hand, have a number of valuable titles on programming. I've bought a few, including: "Beginning Java" (WROX), "Beginning Linux Programming" (WROX), "Advanced Linux Programming" (New Riders), "VI Improved - VIM" (New Riders). These are all very high quality books (especially the VIM book - absolutely outstanding!!!). Well organized and easy to follow. I've noticed that QUE books have the appearance of containing a lot of information, but are disorganized when you sit down to read the material, and they just don't do a good thorough job of covering the topic.
Interestingly, you can read online the full versions of the New Riders books I mentioned here.
(If you have trouble with that link, go through the New Riders home page and search for the titles.)
Next...
I have to write C/C++ code daily for Tru64 and Linux. Unix Systems Programming and Programming with POSIX Threads are two very good books. They aren't Linux-specific books, but I've used these books on a weekly (or daily) basis for a couple of years despite the USP book being written in '96.
return is not a function. Thus you can do:
return 0;
Instead of
return(0);
Yes, K&R did it in their first book. No, that book is no longer current. I mean, you don't do (x)++, do you?
Also, the only portable return values from main() are 0 (success), EXIT_SUCCESS, and EXIT_FAILURE (the last two are obvious); In addition, EFAULT is not defined by ISO C. But this paragraph is largely irrelevant since this is Linux programming, not standard C programming.
HTH, HAND.
the real title should be
"Programming GNU/LINUX"
or
"Programming GNU/LINUX with GNU tools"
or better yet
"Programming GNU/LINUX with GNU tools while using
GNU/EMACS"
nbfn
over other *nix's though is that there are no such "defaults." Everybody rolls their own. Ain't it cool? I've used a number of small distros, for various advantages they held, that did *not* include gcc as a default and by not doing so performed certain design parameters of the distro all the better for it.
gcc is *typically* installed by default by the major distros. There is something of a "protocol" to do so ( and even then a couple of distros aimed at the desktop newbie have also failed to include it at all, even as an install option).
No matter what though, even if it isn't included with your distro as an *option* at install you can always just go download it.
Now *THAT* is what is the coolest about Free/Open/Artistic/Whatever software.
KFG
This book is in the bargain bin at Fry's for $12.49. The Industry store has about 10 of them in stock as of 2:00 this afternoon.
...is another book by Kurt Wall (along with a few other people). It covers the same topics as Linux Programming by Example, and a good deal more. In fact, because one of Linux Programming Unleashed's authors worked on both books (Kurt Wall), several of the sections in Linux Programming by Example were word for word copies of the same section in Linux Programming Unleashed.
This isn't meant to bash the author. Linux Programming by Example is a very good book for people who know how to program in C, but have never done it for Linux before. I consider it to be the "lite" version of Linux Programming Unleashed. Linux Programming Unleashed contains almost the same information as Linux Programming by Example, in the same accessible, easy-to-understand presentation, plus a good deal more (like how to write man pages for your programs).
If it comes down to whether to buy one or the other, if you can afford Linux Programming Unleashed ($50, whereas Linux Programming by Example is around $30) buy that. If not, go ahead and get Linux Programming by Example.
Anybody know of a good book for complete beginners to gdb and debugging?
I picked this book up at fry's today for 12 bucks ( it was on the discount rack ). I bought it cause i have been doing a lot of java proramming the last few years and my C sharpness ;) has decreased. Plus I have always been interested in systems programming with a hard core systems language like C.
I came to the datacenter drunk with a fake ID, don't you want to be just like me?
"The GPL on the other hand entitles the original author some degree of control over his work "
Yeaaaah. Sure. Too bad that with all this "incentives" there is hardly any innovation coming from the GPL crowd - to the contrary , just about every interesting application/idea in the last 10 years came from commercial circles.
MOD THE TROLL PARENT DOWN!!!
Support Israeli punk bands. Man Alive.