Beginning Linux Programming

If you've installed Linux, or have access to a version of UNIX, you've probably got used to the environment and it's configuration, but if you want to start programming, most Linux books leave you on your own. This book takes off where they stop, showing you how to make the most of the tools UNIX offers (which are included as standard with any distribution of Linux) and start programming UNIX for real. We concentrate on C programming, looking at the GNU tools, and the UNIX C libraries, to teach you step by step how to write, build, and debug serious application code. Throughout the book, we'll develop a fully featured CD Database application, allowing you to see the theory of each new topic applied to a real application. As well as handling basic file operations, input and output and dealing with the way UNIX handles data, we'll introduce such advanced topics as inter-process communication, networking, and using CGI scripting to build a web interface -- all the elements of client-server programming. We also introduce the GTK+ and show how to build rich graphical user interfaces for X with GNOME. Finally, there's an introduction to device drivers, to give you a window into the way the Linux kernel itself works. You'll also learn shell scripting for BASH, and we'll introduce two more powerful scripting languages -- Tcl and Perl. You'll need to be comfortable with the basics of using Linux, with a good working knowledge of how to use and configure your system. You should also know some simple C. If you're familiar with basic programming concepts, the working examples in the book will soon give you the confidence to explore Linux's C libraries. You'll find the programming tools used in this book are included with virtually any Linux distribution, so this book is all you need to get started as a Linux programmer. Book jacket.