Poised Solutions Tech Library

Shell coding is a level just above the kernel, hence the name, the shell of the kernel, shell coding happens at the operating system level. Shell programming's main purpose is to allow the scripted execution of programs and to redirect their input and output to allow for code reuse and simplification of administration or development tasks. The books reviewed here tend to aim for POSIX shell compliance, though the extra elements offered by the shells are also explored.

Poised Solutions offers shell development in both as a BASH Developer and POSIX Shell Developer.

Shell Book Reviews

Classic Shell Scripting

Classic Shell Scripting takes a POSIX cross platform (shell) approach to shell scripting. If you want to brush up your shell skills and produce scripts that should run under a number of different shell, Classic Shell Scripting explains how to do this, and explains it well.

Unix Shell Programming

Unix shell programming is a excellent tutorial on real world shell programming using core POSIX shell features. The whole gamut of shell development is fully explored and excellent examples of shell scripts are given throughout Unix Shell Programming. Reference is perhaps not as strong, but it does cope adequately when looking up techniques in the index.

From Bash to Z Shell

From Bash to Z Shell takes the rather unique approach of explaining two shell languages side by side through the book. Ultimately they appear to have pulled this off, personally I use both shells; Z shell for command line, and Bash POSIX for scripts. The book is a fun read, and if read from cover to cover will give the reader a good grounding in Shells on the Unix platform. As a reference book though the dual approach detracts from.

Mastering UNIX Shell Scripting

The New Kornshell Command and Programming Language