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.

• Getting around
  • Inside the terminal
  • Searching and metadata
  • Files and filesystems
  • Startup
  • Directory services
  • Printing
  • The X Window system and VNC
  • Third-Party tools and applications
  • Dual-boot and beyond
• Building applications
  • Compiling source code
  • Libraries, headers, and frameworks
• Working with packages
  • Fink
  • MacPorts
  • Creating and distributing installable software
• Serving and system management
  • Using Mac OS X as a server
  • System management tools
  • Other programming languages : Perl, Python, Ruby, and Java