The Linux Command Line A Complete Introduction By William E.Shotts

This book is a broad overview of “living” on the Linux command line. Unlike some books that concentrate on just a single program, such as the shell program bash, this book will try to convey how to get along with the command line interface in a larger sense. How does it all work? What can it do? What’s the best way to use it?

This is not a book about Linux system administration.

While any serious discussion of the command line will invariably lead to system administration topics, this book touches on only a few administration issues. It will, however, prepare the reader for additional study by providing a solid foundation in the use of the command line, an essential tool for any serious system administration task.

This book is Linux-centric.

Many other books try to broaden their appeal by including other platforms such as generic Unix and macOS. In doing so, they “water down” their content to feature only general topics. This book, on the other hand, covers only contemporary Linux distributions. Ninety-five percent of the content is useful for users of other Unix-like systems, but this book is highly targeted at the modern Linux command line user.