[Gllug] Are old Unix books any good?

[Alan Peery]

In broad generalities:

Old programming books can be quite useful as the old interfaces are 
still generally there.  

Old system architecture books are very useful, if studied side by side 
with a current one.  Of the best bits of reading I ever did was two 
kernel design books side by side--and you can achieve the same thing by 
going back in time.  I'd recommend the Bach book on the Unix kernel 
along with a current Linux book if you're interested in this area.

The older sysadmin books will be more useful than the medium term ones. 
 Going back to 1992 era Unix sysadmin will let you see the system before 
it got more flexible and more complicated.  Looking at books for Redhat 
6.2 -7.3 books when you're working on 8.0 will drive you mad because the 
new stuff is changing rapidly, and the underlying architecture is 
generally not explained in detail.

Alan


Dermot Moynihan wrote:

> Sometime ago, in response to a request here on what books to get to 
> facilitate my learning Linux, I was advised not to close my eyes to 
> the possibilities of Unix books. As I know nothing about Unix or its 
> evolution can anybody recommend a sort of a cut off publishing date 
> before which the book would not be worth getting. Or should I regard 
> the date as being irrelevant? I don't have enough knowledge to judge 
> the content.
>
> rgds
> dermot



-- 
Alan Peery -- peery at io.com
Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration
of discovery and the longing to understand.  Our journey into space
will go on.  -- President Bush, Feb 1 2003




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