The Unix terminal is a powerful command-line environment that, more than 40 years since its creation, still tops the charts of the most useful tools for programmers and system administrators. In the era of DevOps, every developer should be familiar with it.
Many young programmers didn't grow up with the command-line as the computer's main interface. Therefore, they don't know the power that a tool like the Unix terminal can provide. But behind fancy windows and coloured buttons there is a world that can be discovered.
This book is not an attempt to take over the place of sacred tomes like Bash Guide for Beginners or many other great resources that discuss every single aspect of the powerful Unix command-line interface. I just want to provide a simple introduction for beginners that is easy to follow. The chapters are short, structured as self-contained lessons so that the book can be used as a course for young programmers that, trying to keep pace with ever-evolving technologies, cannot afford spending hours on the gory details of the Unix terminal.
The book is still in development but it already contains two completed sections. The first one covers the basic utilities like cat, wc, grep, and sed, while the second part introduces the reader to regular expressions. Two other parts that are still in the works will cover the file system and scripting. Chapters discuss the concepts using some example files and provide exercises with solutions so that the reader can practically test their understanding.
The book is meant to be simple and it purposely skips details, providing, I hope, a great way for beginners to start exploring the Unix world, now that Linux and Mac OS are on everyone's computer (and other devices). In the era of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality, the command-line still has something to say. If you want to start listening, welcome to the Beginner's Guide to the Unix Terminal.