elmore
October 18th, 2003, 01:27
As many of you know I've really been concentrating on shell scripting lately. Primarily I've been focused on learning Regular Expressions and also learning sed and awk.

I have 5 books that have helped me out the most thus far. I'm fairly pleased with all of them. I thought I'd post them up so others looking to expand their scripting skills can can benefit as well.

1. Sed & Awk
O'Reilly
Dale Dougherty & Arnold Robbins
ISBN 1-56592-225-5

Comment: The bible when it comes to sed and awk. Has some good examples and reads well. A must have for those wanting to learn sed and awk. Also has a very detailed regular expressions chapter which goes over most common syntax.

2. Sed & Awk Pocket Reference
O'Reilly
Arnold Robbins
ISBN 0-596-00352-8

Comment: I've used this book more than any of the others to look up quick syntax references etc. You really gotta get this book to accompany the Sed & Awk book. Plus it really does fit in your pocket.

3. Mastering Regular Expressions
O'Reilly
Jeffrey E.F. Friedl
ISBN 0-596-00289-0

Comment: I've barely scratched the surface with this book though what I've read is good. It covers regular expressions in depth to give the reader complete command of the syntax. Also covers perl, .NET, and Java syntax. This book is a good companion to all the other books. For most the Sed & Awk chapter on regular expressions will probably suffice.

4. UNIX Shell Programming
Hayden Books
Stephen G. Kochan & Patrick H. Wood
ISBN 0-672-48448-X

Comment: This book is a classic. Great examples, covers most common scripting routines, covers shell syntax in depth and teaches general thought process when scripting.

5. UNIX Applications Programming
SAMS Press
Ray Swartz
ISBN 0-672-22715-0

Comment: This book covers most of the same things as the above book does. It is geared more towards the beginner though it does cover some topics in depth.

That's it. Enjoy!