Mac OS X For Unix Geeks: Demistifying the Geekier Side of Mac OS X

by Ernest Rothman, Brian Jepson, Rich Rosen

Overview

If you're a developer or system administrator lured to Mac OS X because of its Unix roots, you'll quickly discover that performing Unix tasks on a Mac is different than what you're accustomed to. Mac OS X for Unix Geeks serves as a bridge between Apple's Darwin OS and the more traditional Unix systems. This clear, concise guide gives you a tour of Mac OS X's Unix shell in both Leopard and Tiger, and helps you find the facilities that replace or correspond to standard Unix utilities.

You'll learn how to perform common Unix tasks in Mac OS X, such as using Directory Services instead of the standard Unix /etc/passwd and /etc/group, and you'll be able to compile code, link to libraries, and port Unix software using either Leopard and Tiger. This book teaches you to:

• Navigate the Terminal and understand how it differs from an xterm
• Use Open Directory (LDAP) and NetInfo as well as Directory Services
• Compile your code with GCC 4
• Port Unix programs to Mac OS X with Fink
• Use MacPorts to install free/open source software
• Search through metadata with Spotlight's command-line utilities
• Build the Darwin kernel

And there's much more. Mac OS X for Unix Geeks is the ideal survival guide to tame the Unix side of Leopard and Tiger. If you're a Unix geek with an interest in Mac OS X, you'll soon find that this book is invaluable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780596520625
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/25/2008
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	426
Sales rank:	702,015
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ernest E. Rothman is a Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Salve Regina University(SRU) in
Newport, Rhode Island. Ernie holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown Universityand a BS
in Mathematics from Brooklyn College, CUNY. Before accepting a full-time faculty position at SRU in 1993,
he held the positions of Research Associate and Scientific Software Analyst at the Cornell Theory Center at Cornell Universityin Ithaca, New York. His professional interests are in scientific computing, applied mathematics and computational science education, and the Unix underpinnings of Mac OS X. Ernie lives in southern Rhode Island with his wife Kim and Newfoundland dog Joseph. You can keep abreast of his latest activities at http://homepage.mac.com/samchops.

Brian Jepson is a, programmer, author, and executive editor for MAKE's book series. He's also a volunteer system administrator and all-around geek for AS220, a non-profit arts center in Providence, Rhode Island. AS220 gives Rhode Island artists uncensored and unjuried forums for their work. These forums include galleries, performance space, and publications. Brian sees to it that technology, especially little blinky bits of technology, supports that mission.

Rich Rosen's career began at Bell Labs, where his work with relational databases, Unix, and the Internet prepared him well for the world of Web application development. He's been a Macintosh user for over twenty years, currently using a Mac Mini as his home server, an iMac as the centerpiece of his home recording studio, and a MacBook for live musical performance and writing. He is the co-author of Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols & Practices, a textbook on advanced Web application development. Rich currently works at Interactive Data Corporation writing software for the Fixed Income Systems group. He holds an M.S. in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology, and he lives in New Jersey with his wife, Celia.

Table of Contents

Preface; Audience for This Book; Organization of This Book; Xcode Tools; Where to Go for More Information; Conventions Used in This Book; Comments and Questions; Safari® Books Online; Acknowledgments from the Previous Editions; Acknowledgments from Brian Jepson; Acknowledgments from Ernest E. Rothman; Acknowledgments from Rich Rosen; Getting Around; Chapter 1: Inside the Terminal; 1.1 Mac OS X Shells; 1.2 The Terminal and xterm Compared; 1.3 Using the Terminal; 1.4 Customizing the Terminal; 1.5 Working with File and Directory Names; 1.6 The Services Menu; 1.7 Bonjour; 1.8 Alternative Terminal Applications; 1.9 The open Command; Chapter 2: Searching and Metadata; 2.1 Spotlight; 2.2 Apple’s Hiding Places for File Metadata; Chapter 3: Files and Filesystems; 3.1 Sharing Files with Other Operating Systems; 3.2 Files and Directories; Chapter 4: Startup; 4.1 Booting Mac OS X; 4.2 Creating Programs that Run Automatically; 4.3 Periodic Jobs; Chapter 5: Directory Services; 5.1 Understanding Directory Services; 5.2 Configuring Directory Services; 5.3 Managing Directory Services Data; 5.4 Flat Files and Their Directory Services Counterparts; 5.5 Programming with Directory Services; Chapter 6: Printing; 6.1 AddPrinter; 6.2 Printer Sharing; 6.3 The Common Unix Printing System (CUPS); 6.4 Open Source Printer Drivers; Chapter 7: The X Window System and VNC; 7.1 Installing X11; 7.2 Running X11; 7.3 Customizing X11; 7.4 X11-Based Applications and Libraries; 7.5 Connecting to Other X Window Systems; 7.6 Virtual Network Computing (VNC); Chapter 8: Third-Party Tools and Applications; 8.1 Frontends for SSH and SFTP; 8.2 Mounting SSH Servers As Network Volumes; 8.3 TeX; 8.4 R with an Aqua GUI; 8.5 Open Source Replacements for Microsoft Office; 8.6 Video; 8.7 Image Editing; 8.8 3D Modeling; Chapter 9: Dual-Boot and Beyond; 9.1 Why Bother?; 9.2 Linux on Mac Hardware; 9.3 Emulators on Mac OS X; Building Applications; Chapter 10: Compiling Source Code; 10.1 Compiler Differences; 10.2 Compiling Unix Source Code; 10.3 Architectural Issues; 10.4 X11-Based Applications and Libraries; Chapter 11: Libraries, Headers, and Frameworks; 11.1 Header Files; 11.2 The System Library: libSystem; 11.3 Shared Libraries Versus Loadable Modules; 11.4 Library Versions; 11.5 Creating and Linking Static Libraries; 11.6 Creating Frameworks; 11.7 Performance Tools and Debugging Tools; 11.8 CHUD Tools; 11.9 Interesting and Important Libraries; 11.10 Numerical Libraries; Working with Packages; Chapter 12: Fink; 12.1 Installing Fink; 12.2 Using Fink; 12.3 FinkCommander; 12.4 Installing Binaries Using Command-Line Utilities; Chapter 13: MacPorts; 13.1 Installing MacPorts; 13.2 Using MacPorts; 13.3 MacPorts Maintenance; 13.4 Connecting to the MacPorts SVN Repository; 13.5 MacPort GUIs; Chapter 14: Creating and Distributing Installable Software; 14.1 Using GNU tar; 14.2 Creating Disk Images; 14.3 Using PackageMaker; 14.4 Creating Fink Packages; 14.5 Creating MacPorts Packages; Serving and System Management; Chapter 15: Using Mac OS X As a Server; 15.1 Built-in Services: The Sharing Preference Pane; 15.2 The Email Server; 15.3 The Mac OS X Firewall; 15.4 Free Database Servers on Mac OS X; 15.5 The Outside World; Chapter 16: System Management Tools; 16.1 Diagnostic Utilities; 16.2 Kernel Utilities; 16.3 System Configuration Utilities; 16.4 Third-Party Applications; Chapter 17: Other Programming Languages: Perl, Python, Ruby, and Java; 17.1 Perl for Mac OS X Geeks; 17.2 Python for Mac OS X Geeks; 17.3 Ruby and Rails for Mac OS X Geeks; 17.4 Java for Mac OS X Geeks; Mac OS X GUI Primer; Overview of the Aqua Desktop; Making the Most of Your Desktop Space; Colophon;