Apple’s OS X is (mostly) Unix (UNIX is a trademarked term [1]), as it was derived from the University of California, Berkeley’s Berkeley software distribution (BSD) Unix, but with a few non-Unix features. And while Unix has been around since the 1970s, predating Windows and still used extensively in enterprise computing, it remains virtually unknown to many Microsoft and Apple users, most of whom use only the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that obscure the underlying operating systems. Thus, this book is primarily for learning a bit about the Unix commands for those who have never experienced the power and simplicity of that operating system’s philosophy: small single-purpose tools that are chained together to solve system administration and application problems.

The author focuses on a key set of command-line programs accessed through the terminal app (found in OS X’s applications/utilities folder). These programs help users explore their file system, observe processes and performance, and create custom scripts. For example, the Unix “find” command is covered as a more powerful file search tool than the graphical spotlight option. Other useful commands for networking and remote access are also covered in detail.

Readers already familiar with Unix will find nothing new or instructive in the book unless they’ve been away from that environment for a while using their Apple systems and need a bit of reminding.

Taylor is a longtime Unix user and author, and writes in an understandable style using relevant examples. If you’ve heard that Unix is difficult to learn, he makes the introduction to this important operating system a pleasant and easy read.

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