OS X (Apple)

what is the best way to get to know the terminal environment and command line in the Mac OS X.

is it as simple as learning the bash shell, or any shell.

I have worked in the Terminal environment in the past with some C programming and some command line basics. And with that i had to dig thru a lot of bs miss information in Unix and command like "taste like" resource`s that were Mac OS X based.

or is that just the way it is.

what is the correct string of descriptive words that would honestly give meaning and insight to working with the Mac OSX back end with out a thousand words like, foundation, UNIX-based, Mach 3.0 microkernel, FreeBSD services, Darwin, robust BSD environment, etc.

I would just like to work with the Terminal, i am not on a mission know every nook and cranny dust corner.

thank you

...but I do have a few tips.

As far as I know, OS X behaves just as you'd expect a UNIX system to.
I only use bash, and it suits all my needs.

WHAT IN TARNATION!?!
I can't post URLs?!?

Apple has pretty good documentation. These might not be of too much help, but just to give you an idea of what's out there:
developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/OSX_Technology_Overview/CommandLine/CommandLine.html
Shell Scripting Primer:
developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/OpenSource/Conceptual/ShellScripting/Introduction/Introduction.html
Mac OS X Technology Overview:
developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/OSX_Technology_Overview/About/About.html

One thing you really should install, though, is the MacPorts software repository.
macports.org

The nitty-gritty:
osxbook.com

Ultimately, you will learn what you need to know to get the job done!
If you want to become a pro, it helps to have a good reason for wanting to!

Good luck!
-Peter

same as any other generic terminal.

Blame the spammers.

---------- Post updated at 10:44 AM ---------- Previous update was at 10:43 AM ----------

MacOS uses the BASH shell, so advanced bash scripting guide

thank you peter.story and every one else.

The thing i am aiming towards is looking at code written by other people. if their pro`s i could maybe learn something from them.
there are not a lot of example`s as to why a person would use array`s and their use`s and other programming tools, what is a word for that besides tools.
i have been able to progress to reading code, and writing some by what`s in a book.
yes i know, jump in the trench. i really get burnt out with mistakes.
it was fun when i did a while loop in c the first time. ha ha ha
thank you

Having spent the last week working with non-Mac OS X systems over SSH, I'm really appreciating the Mac's command-line environment!

Keep asking questions, and keep reading the man pages!

-Peter Story