Articles by this author:

Using Standard Input and Output
A quick review of basic redirection techniques used by every Unix guru. [02/24/2000]

Context diffs
Context diffs show the lines around changes in similar files.  [02/24/2000]

Change Many Files by Editing Just One
Use ed and diff to edit mulitple files. [02/24/2000]

Standard Input to a for Loop
A for loop can be used to step through a list of arguments from standard input. Find out how in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/10/2000]

Making a for Loop with Multiple Variables
Got more than one variable you want to use in your for loop? Find out how in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/10/2000]

Handling Command-Line Arguments with a for Loop
Need a shell script that can step through its command line arguments one by one? Read how to do it with a for loop in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/10/2000]

Trapping Exits Caused by Interrupts
If your shell script is terminated prematurely it could get messy. Learn how to trap those unruly interrupts in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/10/2000]

The exec Command
There is more than one use for exec, learn a couple of new ones in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition.  [02/10/2000]

Copying Directory Trees with cp -r
Want to recursively copy everything under a given directory? Don't get caught by the gotcha's. Learn about cp -r in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/03/2000]

Copying Directory Trees with (tar | tar)
Not just for tape archives, tar can overcome several of the pitfalls of using cp -r. Find out how in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/03/2000]

Telling tar Which Files to Exclude or Include
Sometimes you don't want to tar just everything in a directory. Or maybe you want to include some subdirectories and exclude others. Find out how in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/03/2000]

Handle Too-Long Command Lines with xargs
That command line getting too long? Conquer it with one of the tools that makes Unix "weird and wonderful" in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/03/2000]

xargs: Problems with Spaces and Newlines
Gnu's xargs patches up a sticky problem in the original - it choked on filenames with spaces or newlines. Find out how to take advantage of that patch in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [02/03/2000]

Build Strings with { }
Save typing by expanding strings at the shell prompt. Learn hot to use the {} pattern-expansion characters in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition.  [01/27/2000]

What Can You Do with an Empty File?
There are more uses for /dev/null than you might have imagined. Learn four of them in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition.  [01/27/2000]

The () Subshell Operators
Learn why using parentheses to group commands is a useful shell trick in this modified excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition.  [01/27/2000]

Protecting Files with the Sticky Bit
Want to keep others from altering or deleting your files even if they have write permissions to your directory? Learn about the sticky bit in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [01/27/2000]

Hacking on Characters with tr
Want to quickly strip special characters from a file or change a mac text file into a Unix text file? Learn how in this excerpt from Unix Power Tools, 2nd Edition. [01/27/2000]