Unix Links

Yes, it's considered old-fashioned and terribly quaint :-), but it really is possible to learn about this stuff by reading.

Here are some good places to start reading online:

• Is Unix the right system for you? Check this disclaimer to find out

• If you're using Unix at Concordia, you might find the IITS Help Line to be of interest; also, don't forget to check out the Alcor home page, the online help page for Alcor, and our other online documentation

• Probably the best single place to start is UNIXhelp for Users, which is mirrored on Alcor

• Another really wonderful resource is the UNIX Reference Desk

• Brian Kernighan's home page contains links to home pages for The C Programming Language and The Unix Programming Environment, as well as his new book with Rob Pike, The Practice of Programming

• For orientation, you may be interested in Nick Moffitt's $7 History of Unix; there's also a paper by Dennis Ritchie on The Evolution of the Unix Time-sharing System, and the History chapter of Eric S. Raymond's new book, The Art of Unix Programming -- and for real history buffs, check out the home page for Multics, the system which at least partly inspired the design of the original Unix system

• The classic paper which describes Unix is called simply The UNIX Time-Sharing System

• Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dennis Ritchie's home page contains stories about Unix history and folklore, among other things, including this page about the history of the C programming language

• Here's a set of frequently asked questions (with answers :-) about Unix (from the "comp.unix.questions" newsgroup)

• Frequently asked questions about DEC OSF/1 (also known as "DEC Unix" or "dUnix", taken from the "comp.unix.osf.osf1" newsgroup)

  [ editor's note: I'll start calling it "Digital Unix" just as soon as someone tells me where to find a product called "Analog Unix" -- but not before :-) ]

  [ updated editor's note: It will be a sub-zero day at the end of the road paved with good intentions before I'll even think about calling it "Tru64 UNIX" ]

• For Alcor users, some DEC Unix manuals are available online (NOTE: this link can only be viewed from within the .Concordia.CA domain)

• The Biologist's Survival Guide to Some Computer Somewhere, a guide to using Unix at Concordia written by Dr. Carolyn Beckman of Concordia's Biology department

• Other collections of Frequently Asked Questions

• The " vi lovers' home page" is a useful reference for those of us who actually like the vi editor; of course, if you like vi, you should also check out the vim home page and vim FAQ

• Anthony Thyssen's Tower of Computational Sorcery contains a number of useful documents on Unix utilities, shell scripts and the X Window system, among other things

• Tom Christiansen's opinion about why csh scripting is a bad idea

Additionally, here's a list of books about Unix. Please take the time to look through it -- you'll probably find something useful.

Finally, you may also be interested in information about Unix system administration.