Customer Reviews (3)

The big enchilada
In the emacs world, this is 'The Book' by 'The Man.' Emacs is an indispensible tool imho. I use it, to this very day, under Windows XP.

What's the best way to learn emacs? Buy a book, like this one, dive in and don't come out until you start to 'get it.'

When I sit back and think why I still use emacs, and ferret out all the reasons, it truly ends up being completely non-bigotry related.Emacs just literally does many things better for a certain class of text-processing activities.It's a tool in the same way UNIX shell scripting is; a tool I'll probably never live without.

What does emacs have/do that's head & shoulders better than other editors?Well, literally the list is quite long, but for starters: Regular expressions everywhere, navigation keystrokes for every conceivable structure & sub-structure of a text document, real unlimited undo, non-trivial keyboard macros, and of course for ultimate flexibility an embedded lisp interpreter.

Word is nice - I did write a fairly large novel with it - but to this day I write many many shorter documents with emacs first.Truly. Word does have some amazing features, no joke, but for a certain class of text processing activities emacs will probably always rule.

Software takes money to write, and emacs is, imho, one of the software 'pyramids' that have withstood the test of time. If you believe in the free software movement and want to learn emacs, why not buy a copy of a book by one of the men who was truly instrumental in the free software movement?

This guy knows what he is talking about
Great book about an essential software development tools. Emacs has shown it value for decades and its extensiblity keeps is up-to-date and useful for every software programming task.

I believe money for the sale of this book goes to support free software, a great cause.

(...).

This is the GNU Emacs Manual
This book was issued to me while working as a consultant for Northern Telecom (Nortel.) They standardized on this editor, as it was the most efficient for their environment. The above description of the back cover pretty much tells it all.The book comes with a Lay Flat Binding. There is a Short Content and several page Table of Contents. Also the GNU Manifesto, Glossary, Key (Character) Index, Command and Function Index, Variable Index and Concept Index. You seldom need to go outside this reference Manual. ... Read more

Book Description
For GNU Make Version 3.79.1

The Make program is indispensable to maintainers of free software systems. The GNU Make manual, written by the program's original authors, is the definitive tutorial. It also includes an introductory chapter for novice users. The Make utility automates the process of compilation; it is especially useful when the source files of large programs change. It is a small program with a lot of power.

This book will show you: * How to write your own makefiles
* Make's rule syntax and how to write your own rules
* How the Make utility can be configured to automatically put binary and source files in the right places.
* How to use make to create archive files automatically
* Define, set and use Make's variables
* How Make uses targets so that you can broaden or narrow Make's recompilation efforts on demand.
* And much more!

This manual provides a complete explanation of Make, both the basics and extended features. There is also a convenient Quick Reference appendix for experts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Just a reference, does not give you the wider picture.
This is just a reference, written in a style a bit too terse. Not good as a tutorial.
For a wider picture and introduction, see Managing Projects With Make (I believe the newer editions only cover GNUMake, which is different than what BSD developers use).

Clear and Complete
I'll add to the positive remarks of other reviewers that this book will help you understand why features that work with one version of make do not work with another. The section "Features of GNU 'make'" contains information on which features came from which 'make' implementation; this gives the reader some historical context and information that not all 'make' programs are created equal. This information is especially valuable when working with a number of different 'make' utilities from different vendors (happily, GNU make runs on almost any platform most users are likely to encounter, and installing GNU make on a machine may be much easier than wrestling with the differences between 'make' implementations).

I refer to this book (or the info version from within emacs) regularly. I have found it extremely helpful while trying to figure out how another Makefile works, while trying to figure out how to accomplish a particular task with 'make', and just for general knowledge about the tool. I found the sections on suffix rules and pattern rules to be particularly informative.

One final note: by purchasing this book you are helping to support free software, as the book is published by GNU Press, the publishing department of the Free Software Foundation.

One Book which lets all others fading
This is an excellent book for software developers who want to write Makefile seriously. I have read other make books, including "Managing Projects with make" and "Mastering Make". None of them present core of Makefile to readers. From newsgroup comp.unix.shell one can know that there are still a lot of people who are struggling for writting their own real Makefile. Richard and Roland are national outstanding experts in this area!

Good reference
This book, which was made available on the Web for free, is here published in book form for those who prefer it that way. It is a great introduction to GNU Make for beginners who need to learn it, and a good reference for those more experienced.

After a brief overview of make in chapter 1, the authors move on to introduce makefiles in chapter 2 and 3. A general makefile consists of rules, with a target, dependencies, and commands. The authors do a great job of explaining makefiles and give a sample makefile explaining how an executable depends on object files, those depending themselves on C source files and header files. The use of'make clean' is discussed also, along with the use of variables to simplify makefiles.

A more detailed discussion of rule writing is given in chapter 4, with the rule syntax outlined, and how to use wildcard characters in file names. The 'vpath' directive is discussed also. The authors show how to construct rules with multiple targets, and how to use dependencies that are not necessarily identical using static pattern rules. The chapter ends with a discussion of how to generate dependencies automatically.

The use of command echoing is explained in the next chapter on writing commands in rules, with the recursive use of 'make' as itself a command in a makefile. This is followed in chapter 6 by more details on the use of variables in makefiles. Readers knowing the shell very well will find this easy reading, but beginners will have to pay attention to the subtle uses of variable references and the difference between recursively expanded and simply expanded variables. The authors include an advanced section on variable reference for the more experienced reader. A detailed discussion on using conditional statements in makefiles is given.

The use of functions to do text processing is the subject of chapter 8 with the general syntax for function calls given. This is followed in chapter 9 by a discussion on how to actually execute a makefile.

The use of implicit rules to perform compilation in the usual way is discussed in chapter 10. This is my preference on how to use make and it is given a nice treatment here, with discussions on how to use implicit rules and introduces pattern rules.

Make can also update archive files, and this is discussed in chapter 11. The last chapters of the book give a list of features of GNU make as compared with other versions of make, and a list of incompatibilities of make with other versions. The conventions that must be respected in writing GNU make programs are discussed also.

Essential manual for a powerful tool
In the ideal world a make script resides in the /usr/local/ directory branch. It invokes one or two include files found in the project directory for the purposes of customization. GNU Make is capable of this, and other feats. But, without reading the documentation, it's nearly impossible to extract the full power of this essential tool.

This book provides enough of an introduction to make that the newbie can immediately start crafting useful makefiles. For the consumate meddler, there is plenty of info on all kinds of features which allow make to be used to manage nearly every aspect of software and documentation creation.

Originally I downloaded the PDF and had it printed out at Kinkos. Having it in a book worked better. Do yourself a favor and get the book. ... Read more

Book Description
This tutorial is the authoritative text for the official documentation formatting language used for all GNU Project manuals. It assumes no previous Texinfo knowledge and includes many examples and exercises. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Book
This book makes using Texinfo painless. It explains the terms that first time layout designers may be unaware of.Each chapter focuses on a separate task; that and the index makes it easy to find what you need right now. It also provides sample code and reference tables.

I just skimmed through the first several chapters, and then looked up what I needed to find in the index. The only down side is the book assumes you are probably using the Emacs editor.This can be confusing in the first chapter or two.But those parts can be skipped over. ... Read more

Book Description
For Bison Version 1.35

Bison is a general-purpose YACC-compatible parser generator that converts a grammar description for an LALR(1) context-free grammar into a C program to parse that grammar. Once proficient, it can be used to develop a wide range of language parsers, from those used in simple desk calculators to complex programming languages.

This book teaches:
* Basic concepts of context-free grammars
* Basic concepts of semantic values and actions
* Bison grammar rules and syntax
* Stages in writing and running Bison grammars
* C-language interface to the parser function yyparse()
* How to use multiple parsers in the same program
* To detect when an operation for a new node type was not implemented
* To ensure that a new operation covers all existing node types adequately
* The Lexical Analyzer Function yylex() and parser C-language interface yyparse()
* Writing rules for error recovery
* And how to use Bison under DOS/Windows and VMS systems.

This book assumes the reader already knows the C Programming Language. The Bison manual provides a quick overview of the theory behind context-free grammars and semantic values. The introductory tutorial section explains the basic concepts of using Bison and shows three examples, each building on the last. If you don't know Bison or Yacc, start by reading these chapters. The following reference sections explain in greater detail and also cover other supporting programs such as yyparse(), yylex(), and yyerror(). A glossary and symbol table are also included. ... Read more

Book Description
The GNU Debugger allows you to see what is going on "inside" a program while it executes - or what a program was doing at the moment it crashed.

GDB supports C, C++, Java, Fortran and Assembly among other languages; it is also designed to work closely with the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC).

The GNU Debugger Program has four special features that helps you catch bugs in the act:

* It starts your program for you, specifying anything that might affect it's behavior.
* Makes your program stop under specified conditions.
* Examines what happened when the program stopped.
* Allows you to experiment with changes to see what effect they have on the program.

This book will show you:

* setting and clearing breakpoints
* examining the stack, source files and data
* examining the symbol table
* altering program execution
* specifying a target for debugging
* how to control the debugger
* how to use canned command sequences
* how to install GDB
* and much more!

This manual is written for programmers. It is designed so someone can begin utilizing GDB after just reading the first chapter, or read the whole manual and master the program. Synopsis of ideas and extensive examples are given. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Worth the money
Even though this entire book is available online, I find it useful to own it.Starts with a simple example, which is my favorite way of getting started.

Found the answer I want
I was looking for information on cross-platform debugging. This manual provides adequate information. A printed manual is sometime helpful when you are so tired looking at the over crowded screen. Good reference! If you are trying to learn the machanism of debugging, you have to find some other book.

Have to respect Stallman
Lets see if Amazon.com allows the link. You have to respect
the wishes of a man like Richard Stallman.

Best book on gdb
This is the best book in the market for gdb. It is full of details and examples, if you would take time to read it.
The INDEX at the end of the book is very well kept.
There are many chapters for newbies and the illustrated examples are simple and easy to follow.
There are also lots of deep and gory details if you need them.

not really helpful
the book is not really helpful for a not so experienced gdb user in that it only is a printed version of the gdb man pages. all features of the gdb debugger are describedextensively, butthere are almost no heplful examples or answers to standard gdb user procedure within an intermediate or , at least, small project. learning about special complicated features may be useful for an advanced user but a bit more tutorial for a save and stable application debugging would be more helpful ... Read more

Book Description
The second part of the GNU C Library reference manual series. Contains advanced functions generally used by people writing larger applications, such as networking or configuring your system. Topics covered include threads, processes,network communications, signal handling, logging and system management. Contains code examples and usage recommendations. Useful for both sys admins and programmers.

Note: This is part of a two-volume set.The other title is GNU C Library: Application Fundamentals. ... Read more

Book Description
This manual provides a complete tutorial introduction to the GNU C and C++ compilers, gcc and g++.Many books teach the C and C++ languages, this book teaches you how to use the compiler itself.All the common problems and error messages encountered by new users of GCC are carefully explained, with numerous easy-to-follow "Hello World" examples. Topics covered include: compiling C and C++ programs using header files and libraries, warning options, use of the preprocessor, static and dynamic linking, debugging, optimization, platform-specific options, profiling and coverage testing, paths and environment variables, and the C++ standard library and templates.Features a special foreword by Richard M. Stallman, principal developer of GCC and founder of the GNU Project.All the money raised from the sale of this book will support the development of free software and documentation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Excellent Intro to GCC
First-rate introduction to the gcc compiler typically found on Linux distributions.Anyone wanting to learn C or C++ will encounter gcc.The C text being used might say nothing about the essential compiler other than to assume that students have one and that they know how it works.Not likely so if they have no background in programming.

So Linux users, in particular, need to understand gcc and how it works.Gough writes very clearly and concisely and his order of topics is quite good.This little book might not be the last word on the GCC package but it certainly is the first one for any new student starting out.it is affordable, which is no small virtue for students, especially.

One suggestion:If you are going to buy this as part of an effort to learn C you will need a good text on the language for that purpose.And if you have not used a line/text editor, think hard about vi, which is on every Linux/Unix machine you might use.Arcane it is, but surprisingly efficient once you learn it.And you will need to learn something.

In summary: Excellent first choice text on the GCC compiler.

nice intro to gcc
The book provides a detailed introduction to gcc compiler. After reading this book, compiling a source code and writing script files should not be a problem. Nice intro to using optimizer and other options of gcc

Good for starters but nothing more than that
If you don't know anything about gnu gcc compilers this is a good book for you. However, as you go on you realize this is the most basic information and you need to resort to other books for more depth. Would recommend for starters but don't rely on it to understand how to setup and learn the inner structure. You will however understand how to use the compiler and what thecompiler flags mean.

good handy book
good handy book... for the price youpay it is a steal

very informative on the compiling and building process.. if you are new to gcc/g++ then this book will give you a clear view of the workings underneath

Crisp, Clean and very very well written!
This is an excellent book if you are new with command line compiling with C/C++. It shows you step by step commands and switches to learn. More importantly, it gives you a no non-sense explanation of what is happening during the process. After reading this book, you will have a clear understanding of compiling, linking, objects, libraries, make utility and where everything fits in. I wish I would have picked up this book when I was studying C Programming. Its targeted for beginner's new to command line compiliing using GNU tools. New C-Programmers using IDE GUI tools may expand their horizon with the command line details. ... Read more

Book Description
For GLibc version 2.2.x

This two volume manual is the comprehensive guide to the GNU implementation of the standard C libraries. It covers both high and low level interfaces, including function specifications, code examples, and usage recommendations. This text includes items of interest to both the system administrator and the programmer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

C programmer should always have a copy of this book.
I am a computer user without any great school diploma but who like to learn how things work inside. I have the gnu/linux system on my computer for few years now and I am using it almost every day.

Believe me, you need this book. If you have minimum knowledge of C programing, it will explain the printf function in detail. If you need more than this, take a look in the part about sockets and tcp/ip.

This is called "Reference Manual" but it's more than a simple alphabetical list of all the function. Each subjects have a chapter that begin with a few paragraph to introduct the subject and they put examples where necessary. (No need to open your computer to see them like in others books I have seen)

Another good point is the way you can find a page in the book.

- There is a Table of content ;-)

- A concept index(where you can find something like "Comparison Function" or "creating a socket")

- A Type Index(with all the data types used by the library),

- A "Function and Macro Index" (Where are they talking about the printf thing?)

- A "Variable and Constant Macro Index" (What is errno?)

- And something cool. An appendix they call "Summary of Library Facilities" it's contain all the functions (and macro, var, ..) with: the header file you need to include, the system it come from (is it a POSIX function? SunOs specific?) and the page number.

Since you can install GCC and glibc on almost any unix like computer (And widows with cygwin). By the way they explan the installation process in the book.

And since the book talk also a litle about the native library of others system.

Well. Read it.

When I began to learn C in linux, I was using the 'info' command or the FSF web site to read the book . (Because it's also available online!) But I should have buy a printed copy long ago. This book have 1079 pages. And lets say that a coder use only the half (that he would read a couple of time for reference). That's insane! Don't lose all this time on the computer. Read it in you bead or whatever but not on the screen. In fact the indexes are soo well done that it's almost fast that any kind of hyper link.

If you want to check the online version: http://www.fsf.org/manual/glibc-2.0.6/libc.html

I almost forget. They also spend few pages in the printed copy for things like contributors and the full text of the LGPL. You may not want to pay for this but it is somehow in the spirit of open source software. Isn't it?

The only reason I put 4 stars rather than 5 is that this book is for Version 1.09 Beta while the publisher, FSF, are printing the one for version 2.2 (Edition 0.09 DRAFT but not that draft at all).

C programmer should always have a copy of this book.
I am a computer user without any great school diploma but who like to learn how things work inside. I have the gnu/linux system on my computer for few years now and I am using it almost every day.

Believe me, you need this book. If you have minimum knowledge of C programing, it will explain the printf function in detail. If you need more than this, take a look in the part about sockets and tcp/ip.

This is called "Reference Manual" but it's more than a simple alphabetical list of all the function. Each subjects have a chapter that begin with a few paragraph to introduct the subject and they put examples where necessary. (No need to open your computer to see them like in others books I have seen)

Another good point is the way you can find a page in the book.

- There is a Table of content ;-)

- A concept index(where you can find something like "Comparison Function" or "creating a socket")

- A Type Index(with all the data types used by the library),

- A "Function and Macro Index" (Where are they talking about the printf thing?)

- A "Variable and Constant Macro Index" (What is errno?)

- And something cool. An appendix they call "Summary of Library Facilities" it's contain all the functions (and macro, var, ..) with: the header file you need to include, the system it come from (is it a POSIX function? SunOs specific?) and the page number.

Since you can install GCC and glibc on almost any unix like computer (And widows with cygwin). By the way they explan the installation process in the book.

And since the book talk also a litle about the native library of others system.

Well. Read it.

When I began to learn C in linux, I was using the 'info' command or the FSF web site to read the book . (Because it's also available online!) But I should have buy a printed copy long ago. This book have 1079 pages. And lets say that a coder use only the half (that he would read a couple of time for reference). That's insane! Don't lose all this time on the computer. Read it in you bead or whatever but not on the screen. In fact the indexes are soo well done that it's almost fast that any kind of hyper link.

If you want to check the online version: http://www.fsf.org/manual/glibc-2.0.6/libc.html

I almost forget. They also spend few pages in the printed copy for things like contributors and the full text of the LGPL. You may not want to pay for this but it is somehow in the spirit of open source software. Isn't it?

The only reason I put 4 stars rather than 5 is that this book is for Version 1.09 Beta while the publisher, FSF, are printing the one for version 2.2 (Edition 0.09 DRAFT but not that draft at all).

Ultimate linux programming manual(674pgs)
This is a great reference manual on linux programming.It is clearly and concisely written, and covers almost everything on the GNU library(the basis for linux programming).It also includes many good examples thatmake learning a snap.This book did not get five stars because it is onlya beta book.It includes three indexes(concept,function,file).It has aplastic binding. ... Read more