What I love about this book is that it covers subjects that you run into all the time in unix but none of my other books say much about. For example the link editor, libraries, c command line options. In particular I like the sections on gdb and gprof. Super useful. The intro has a section on unix and setting up your environmental variables, another neglected topic. The only section that didn't interest me is the section on emacs since I am a vi guy. But, it doesn't hurt to have it either... In sum, if you are a true UNIX guru, you may already know all this stuff, but, if you are an aspiring guru, like myself, this is pure gold.

Good Introduction to GNU Software

Rating: 4/5

The book collects the information usually scattered in different places.It covers the following tools: gcc, emacs, gdb, make, rcs, gprof. The explanation is pretty clear, necessary examples are given.

What I don't like in this book: too many words about benefits of free software, probably more technical topics and details would be more useful. E.g. the chapter about 'make' even doesn't mention pattern rules. I'd like also to see a section devoted to CVS. The level of details is good for an introductory course but is not sufficient for a reference book.

RESUME: if you are new to GNU tools and going to use them on a regular basis this book will help you, otherwise skip it.

Sums it all up!

Rating: 5/5

This book collects all the little tidbits of info concerning compiling, writing make files, debugging and more into a hand reference book. It is good for people who know C/C++, but don't know the Un*x toolset.