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[gwyn%brl-vld at sri-unix.UUCP]

From:      Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn at brl-vld>

Here is a brief review of "The UNIX Programming Environment" by Brian
W. Kernighan & Rob Pike (1984, Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0-13-937681-X {PBK}).
(The authors work at Bell Labs and are well known to the UNIX community.)

This is the best book I have ever seen for UNIX programmers.  The
first few chapters can be read profitably by any intelligent first-time
UNIX user, but the book overall is targeted for professional programmers
who are encountering UNIX for the first time.  I must say that many old-
timers could learn something from this book, too.

The chapter titles are:
	UNIX for Beginners
	The File System
	Using the Shell
	Filters
	Shell Programming
	Programming with Standard I/O
	UNIX System Calls
	Program Development
	Document Preparation
	Epilog
with appendices
	Editor summary
	"hoc" Manual
	"hoc" Listing

"hoc" is an interpreter for a programmable calculator language, used as
a real-world example of program development.

This book is not just a description of features available on UNIX;
instead, the authors explain what is going on and why.  Anyone familiar
with "Software Tools" will recognize the approach.

Roughly half the book emphasizes the use of existing tools in shell
programs.  This is as it should be; it is perhaps the single greatest
contribution of UNIX to program development.

It is remarkable how little dependency on the particular version of
UNIX there is.  The few variations that matter are dealt with as needed.

I would recommend this book as THE book for all UNIX programmers.