UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hiya,

I have literally no programming or scripting experience. The best I've done is basic batch files in DOS.

However I would like to learn in order to help me with unix. I was thinking of learning shell scripting and pearl. Would this be the right way to go? I see that C seems to be popular, but I think this may be too much to learn for starters?

Also would it be best to buy a book to learn from. Or would freebie stuff off the net suffice? Most everything I know about IT has been self taught. So I have no problem teaching myself stuff.

Any advice would be cool. I did check out some other posts, but people are reccomending a boat load of books to start with. I figure I need to start small and build up from there. Buying 5 books at once I feel may be a bit much for me. Or is this the best way to do it? Thanks.

It's perl, not pearl.

Perl can also be a tedious one, as a shell scripting language tends to have a lot of flexibilities in the language syntax that makes it appear to be highly confusing (in fact I personally think aside TCL, Perl's syntax is quite confusing for starters). However, if you are dedicated to it, IMO Perl is a good choice.

Syntax of programming languages like C(++) or Java tends to be more structured and may be more straightforward to some.

After all, if you have spent some time to really learn any language it won't appear confusing anymore. But I won't recommend you to learn many languages at one time. You may arbitrarily choose one, get on with it and once you have some experience with it, then learn another one.

[Beginners Only Book] You can learn shell scripting very very easily! The best book I think I have ever come across for unix scripting (beginning level) is from Sams publishing: Shell Programming in 24 hours! (the 24 hours part is just a popular title for "step by step" so dont let them fool you!). Anyway, the first four or five chapters are all about unix in general. The book moves on to programming constructs, quoting, flow control etc..its a great beginner book. You will be programming within a week or so with so practice.

The book is cheap too, so you wont have to invest much in terms of dollars, just time.


Sams Publishing: Shell Programming in 24 Hours

Thanks guys! BTW I meant Perl, don't know how I ended up typing pearl LOL!.

That book also seems like some thing that would be perfect for starters!

I appreciate your time in answering what may be some real stupid questions. Thanks Again!