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Linux Programmer's Toolbox
Ravi writes "What does it take to start writing programs for Linux? Most people will guess a text editor, knowledge of a programming language, the compiler and libraries of that language. Ask a professional programmer and he will differ with you. Insisting that while those things can help get you started, other things come into play in writing efficient programs such as, a debugger, memory profiler tools and above all a good understanding of the inner working of the Linux kernel and its processes." Read below for the rest of Ravi's review.
Linux Programmer's Toolbox
author
John Fusco
pages
622
publisher
Prentice Hall
rating
9
reviewer
Ravi
ISBN
0132198576
summary
Teaches you the use of tools which help you become a better Linux programmer
The book The Linux Programmer's Toolbox by John Fusco is a storehouse of knowledge, which aims to make the average Linux/Windows programmer aware of the tools at his disposal, that can help him write better programs for Linux. The book is divided into 10 distinct chapters with the first 4 chapters describing various ways of boosting ones productivity while writing code.
In the very first chapter titled "Downloading and Installing Opensource tools", he talks about the different archive formats commonly used in Linux, various package managers such as Debian's own apt-get, Red Hat's Yum and how to properly authenticate the packages you download to ensure that they are not tampered with.
The second chapter deals with building tools from source. Here apart from describing the actual steps involved in compiling the sources, the author also delves into explaining the concept behind the MakeFile, the common variables used in implicit rules and so on. In this chapter one also gets to acquire an understanding of the tools used to create projects as well as examine how these tools work together in the build process.
The book has a chapter exclusively devoted to explaining ways of ambulating through the myriad of documents; tools such as man, info, as well as some of the not so obvious ones. One thing I like about this particular chapter is how the author has provided tables which list a number of recommended manual pages with a short description of each of them.
Linux doesn't have a comprehensive IDE on the lines of Microsoft Visual Studio to develop programs — at least not yet. Most Linux programming gurus are perfectly at home with coding using their favorite text editor. Any book of this stature would be incomplete without a mention of the different editors available for coding in Linux and their pros and cons. The 4th chapter of this book introduces the different editors including Vim and Emacs. There are numerous tips in this chapter to make writing code more efficient, productive and a pleasant experience for the average Linux programmer. As a Vi enthusiast, I couldn't help but admire how one can convert Vim editor to work as a code browser with the help of Ctags which is explained in detail.
The fifth chapter titled "What every developer should know about the kernel" is a turning point in the book and gives a comprehensive understanding of the working of the Linux kernel. It is by far the largest chapter — with nearly 100 pages devoted to this topic. In this chapter the author talks in lucid detail about the different modes in Linux, the process scheduler, device drivers, the I/O scheduler and the memory management in user space, understanding all of which is instrumental in writing better programs for Linux.
The next two chapters deal with Linux processes and the communication between processes. Here one gets to know more about the technical vagaries related to processes such as forking, cloning, process synchronization and the basics of inter process communication. The author has introduced several APIs and basic examples of each.
In the 8th chapter, the author introduces many tools that are installed by default in most Linux distributions which aid in debugging communication between processes. The tools include (but are not limited to) lsof, fuser, stat, hexdump, strace and so on. Each tool is accompanied by its usage and its output with a short discussion of the output.
In the 9th chapter titled "Performance Tuning", one gets to know more about fine tuning a Linux program. Here the author explains the factors affecting system performance as well as the tools for finding system performance issues.
Finally, the last chapter of the book explores some of the most common debugging tools and techniques for Linux. More specifically, I found the discussion on the use of GNU debugger quite informative.
At the end of each of the 10 chapters in the book, the author has provided a short synopsis of the tools that are used. Also many additional online resources have been listed where one can acquire more knowledge about the topic being covered. Throughout the book, noteworthy sections have been highlighted in dark background which makes it quite eye catching and also easy for quick reference.
The book is written with a slant towards the C language especially when depicting the examples in the latter half of the book, which can be understood considering that the bulk of the Linux kernel has been written using C.
Most programmers with a Windows background will be forced to make a paradigm shift while embarking to program for Linux. While the Windows programmers are used to taking deceptive comfort within the cozy confines of a Visual IDE, when they make the shift to write Linux programs, they are suddenly faced with the hard facts of programming as it really is. This book could be an ideal companion for this set of programmers who wish to lessen their learning curve and make programming for Linux a much more pleasurable experience.
I found this book to be an excellent resource for programmers (not necessarily only those with a Windows background) who wish to develop programs for Linux.
Ravi Kumar is a Linux enthusiast who maintains a blog related to Linux, Open Source and Free Software at linuxhelp.blogspot.com.
You can purchase Linux Programmer's Toolbox from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
The book The Linux Programmer's Toolbox by John Fusco is a storehouse of knowledge, which aims to make the average Linux/Windows programmer aware of the tools at his disposal, that can help him write better programs for Linux. The book is divided into 10 distinct chapters with the first 4 chapters describing various ways of boosting ones productivity while writing code.
In the very first chapter titled "Downloading and Installing Opensource tools", he talks about the different archive formats commonly used in Linux, various package managers such as Debian's own apt-get, Red Hat's Yum and how to properly authenticate the packages you download to ensure that they are not tampered with.
The second chapter deals with building tools from source. Here apart from describing the actual steps involved in compiling the sources, the author also delves into explaining the concept behind the MakeFile, the common variables used in implicit rules and so on. In this chapter one also gets to acquire an understanding of the tools used to create projects as well as examine how these tools work together in the build process.
The book has a chapter exclusively devoted to explaining ways of ambulating through the myriad of documents; tools such as man, info, as well as some of the not so obvious ones. One thing I like about this particular chapter is how the author has provided tables which list a number of recommended manual pages with a short description of each of them.
Linux doesn't have a comprehensive IDE on the lines of Microsoft Visual Studio to develop programs — at least not yet. Most Linux programming gurus are perfectly at home with coding using their favorite text editor. Any book of this stature would be incomplete without a mention of the different editors available for coding in Linux and their pros and cons. The 4th chapter of this book introduces the different editors including Vim and Emacs. There are numerous tips in this chapter to make writing code more efficient, productive and a pleasant experience for the average Linux programmer. As a Vi enthusiast, I couldn't help but admire how one can convert Vim editor to work as a code browser with the help of Ctags which is explained in detail.
The fifth chapter titled "What every developer should know about the kernel" is a turning point in the book and gives a comprehensive understanding of the working of the Linux kernel. It is by far the largest chapter — with nearly 100 pages devoted to this topic. In this chapter the author talks in lucid detail about the different modes in Linux, the process scheduler, device drivers, the I/O scheduler and the memory management in user space, understanding all of which is instrumental in writing better programs for Linux.
The next two chapters deal with Linux processes and the communication between processes. Here one gets to know more about the technical vagaries related to processes such as forking, cloning, process synchronization and the basics of inter process communication. The author has introduced several APIs and basic examples of each.
In the 8th chapter, the author introduces many tools that are installed by default in most Linux distributions which aid in debugging communication between processes. The tools include (but are not limited to) lsof, fuser, stat, hexdump, strace and so on. Each tool is accompanied by its usage and its output with a short discussion of the output.
In the 9th chapter titled "Performance Tuning", one gets to know more about fine tuning a Linux program. Here the author explains the factors affecting system performance as well as the tools for finding system performance issues.
Finally, the last chapter of the book explores some of the most common debugging tools and techniques for Linux. More specifically, I found the discussion on the use of GNU debugger quite informative.
At the end of each of the 10 chapters in the book, the author has provided a short synopsis of the tools that are used. Also many additional online resources have been listed where one can acquire more knowledge about the topic being covered. Throughout the book, noteworthy sections have been highlighted in dark background which makes it quite eye catching and also easy for quick reference.
The book is written with a slant towards the C language especially when depicting the examples in the latter half of the book, which can be understood considering that the bulk of the Linux kernel has been written using C.
Most programmers with a Windows background will be forced to make a paradigm shift while embarking to program for Linux. While the Windows programmers are used to taking deceptive comfort within the cozy confines of a Visual IDE, when they make the shift to write Linux programs, they are suddenly faced with the hard facts of programming as it really is. This book could be an ideal companion for this set of programmers who wish to lessen their learning curve and make programming for Linux a much more pleasurable experience.
I found this book to be an excellent resource for programmers (not necessarily only those with a Windows background) who wish to develop programs for Linux.
Ravi Kumar is a Linux enthusiast who maintains a blog related to Linux, Open Source and Free Software at linuxhelp.blogspot.com.
You can purchase Linux Programmer's Toolbox from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Perl, Perl, Perl, Perl -- that is the only answer to everything! Bugzilla, DVD decoders, SSL, apache2.pm and a Tomcat -- all written in Perl! Even Windows 98 is written in Perl (Vista is just rewrite to C++ from Perl)...
*running away* :-)