December 2003
Ed SchaeferI still host the monthly Shell Corner at UnixReview.com. This third edition of "Backup Scripts" features scripts from three pillars of the comp.unix.shell newsgroup. If you've posted to that newsgroup, Heiner Steven, Michael Wang, or Chris F. A. Johnson may have answered your question. The first script described in this article creates a local archive of files on a remote host. The second script creates a Solaris alternative backup boot disk, and the third script automatically extracts files of various archive types into the current directory.
Randal L. SchwartzThe Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) is a wonderful place, full of contributed items for you to use, such as scripts and modules. Modules are the core of the CPAN: little building blocks for you to include into your applications.
Russell DyerIn case you haven't heard, the popularity of XML continues to grow. In a time when the ability to point-and-click is in demand, XML (the simple method of sending data by way of text wrapped in descriptive text) is gaining world-wide acceptance. If you don't already know how to work with XML, then it may be time to start learning it. A good book to get you started is the newest edition of O'Reilly's Learning XML, by Erik Ray.
Cameron LairdThere's a better way to do systems administration.
That's my belief, anyway. To control at least part of the crisis-driven noise that so often plagues systems administration jobs, I favor "test-driven development" (TDD) practices. The first installment in this series introduced the Expect tool and language. This installment shows how Expect models solutions for tests that matter to systems administrators.
This article has been a particular challenge for me — it involves not only several different crucial ideas, but different kinds of ideas. Precision about the role of Expect is an example of this difficulty.
Emmett DulaneyAn economic downturn is often viewed as a good time to pad the resumé with a few certifications. And what can be better padding than one-exam certifications that are good for life, such as those offered by CompTIA?
Dennis KennedyAlthough many people question the viability of open source as a business model, no one doubts the power of open source as a model for creating stable and innovative software.
Russell DyerDespite the power, the stability, and the flexibility of MySQL, it's still only a database engine and not an application, per se. Although it can be accessed with the mysql client, the client is not suitable for most non-technical users. Therefore, developers must use a programming language to build user interfaces. A few of the popular languages provide application program interfaces (APIs) to interact with MySQL: Perl, PHP, Python, and Java. In an earlier article in this MySQL series, I explained how to connect to MySQL with PHP. In this installment, I will review the basics of building a MySQL interface with Perl. For my illustrations I will use the scenario of a bookstore's inventory that is viewed through the Web browser.
Joe "Zonker" BrockmeierThis month, I have two helpful programs to discuss. The first is Perltidy, a program that helps make Perl scripts more readable. The other is Snownews, a console-based RSS aggregator.
Ed SchaeferThis month, John Spurgeon presents "the Kameleon Shell", a shell that changes colors to appear as either the Korn shell or the Bourne shell depending on the environment. This is an advanced and novel technique, and could be considered controversial. You should be acutely aware of what you are doing — be prepared for the risks and consequences. In my opinion, if you're not experienced enough to create a filesystem, you should leave Kameleon alone.
Joe CasadIf you are looking for a big, comprehensive reference on Samba with expert advice from members of the Samba development team, you need look no further than The Official Samba-3 HOWTO and Reference Guide. This big and thorough book covers the spectrum of Samba topics, from configuration, to printing, to all the many complications of interfacing with Windows. In fact, if you work with Samba on a regular or even occasional basis, you'll find a hundred reasons for buying this book; and if there is one reason for not buying it, it is probably that you already own it.
Joe "Zonker" BrockmeierIn my experience, programmers, admins, and geeks in general tend to become very attached to text editors. And for good reason — we use them a lot and invest a great deal of time learning every nuance to wring the best performance out of them. When your job consists of writing a great deal of code and/or editing configuration files and so forth, you want to find the best text editor or IDE available and stick with it. When you're concentrating on writing a script or making delicate changes to your httpd.conf, you don't want to have to think about the features of your text editor — after using a given editor long enough, using the hotkeys for various features eventually becomes as unconscious a task as touch-typing.
Emmett DulaneyWhether you're looking for something to do in your spare time with excess equipment, or trying to find the right gift for the techie you know, look no further than Wiley's new book Linux Toys. Written by Christopher Negus (author of several editions of the Red Hat Linux Bible) and Chuck Wolber (president of the Tacoma Linux User Group), this book walks through 13 projects for old equipment.
Marcel GagnéAs the advantages of electronic mail continue to get muddied by the ever increasing bulk of spam, businesses and organizations are looking at many solutions. Some of these solutions are aimed at controlling spam with the use of intelligent agents and filters, while others look to different alternatives that have nothing to do with email. One such alternative is Instant Messaging, commonly referred to as IM.
Instant messaging remains extremely popular with the younger generation and friends looking for casual, always-on conversation, but it is increasing moving into the corporate network structure. With instant messaging, you can be in constant touch with your fellow workers and team members, vendors and clients, even if those people are scattered in offices around the globe. It's a nearly perfect means of communication for people on the move. Plug in, get online, and you are immediately available, wherever you are.
Joe CasadIf you tune into Slashdot or any of the other high-tech sources, you may have noticed that Microsoft Corporation, which has emerged relatively unscathed from many titanic battles with corporate giants and national governments, could very possibly receive a crippling blow in the near fuure from a tiny upstart with the big idea. That upstart company is Lindows.com, and their big idea is that maybe the name "Windows" shouldn't be protected by a trademark. The creators of LindowsOS were so certain that Windows shouldn't have a trademark that they gave their product a name that infringes directly on that trademark. And when the inevitable litigation began, they didn't flinch at a full-scale legal assault from a company with the worlds largest cash reserves but, in fact, seemed to take a certain relish in it. The copyright notice on their Web site bears the words:
"Lindows is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft Corporation in any way — in fact, we don't even really like them because they are suing us."
Joe "Zonker" BrockmeierOver the years I've accumulated dozens of books on Linux and Unix, but none of these books has ever come in as handy as the man pages that document system commands and other important aspects of *nix systems.
Rikki EndsleyThis book will absolutely not help you do your job better. However, The Best of The Joy of Tech has been one of the best things I've had on my desk all year.
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