The mark of a craftsman is his familiarity with his tools, the speed with which he can use them to solve simple problems, and his cleverness in using them to solve more complicated challenges. The latest edition of Unix Power Tools explores the standard Unix tools in greater depth than ever, and with better coverage of Linux, FreeBSD, and even the Darwin environment of Mac OS X. It's also been improved by the addition of sections on Perl and Python, programming languages that can often solve Unix problems more adeptly than any specific utility. This detail-filled book distinguishes itself from other guides for Unix gurus with its organizational structure (it's a series of articles that can be absorbed sequentially or individually) and carefully designed and executed index. Like its esteemed predecessors, this book is one you will keep handy.

The authors have achieved a nearly ideal balance in the pages of this book. It's not just a collection of recipes (such collections tend to leave you hanging if you want to do something a little differently), it's not just a book of documentation (books like that have application mainly as references for people who know a lot already), and it's not just a conceptual how-to guide. Unix Power Tools is all of those things, and the overall effect is impressive indeed. If you work with any flavor of Unix, whatever your level of experience, you will benefit by having this book. —David Wall

Topics covered: How to work efficiently, elegantly, and creatively with the Unix tool suite, as well as (to a lesser extent) with Perl and Python scripts. Tips and strategies on customization, document generation, process management, and networking abound in this wisdom-rich volume.

Microsoft has introduced the right server for a world now dominated by highly distributed systems and web-based server applications, and O'Reilly has written a book that will earn a prominent place on administrators' desk tops. The GUI chapter is organized by topic according to major themes of Windows Server 2003 administration, providing one-stop shopping for busy admins. For example, if you want to find out about Active Directory and how to manage it, you'd begin by turning to Active Directory. Each topic begins with a description of basic concepts, followed by a description of tools (such as Microsoft Management Console snap-ins) used to administer the feature, instructions on how to perform common or important administrative tasks, and notes detailing subtle points and potential gotchas Windows Server 2003 offers greatly enhanced command-line administration, and the command reference prominently highlights the many new commands in this release. Dozens of new commands and scripts have been added for administration of Active Directory, disks, event logs, Group Policy, IIS, network diagnostics, the pagefile, printers, processes, shared folders, and the Registry. The result is a Windows operating system platform that now rivals Unix in its ability to support command-line and scripted administration.