Rating: 
Summary: Simply the best, too bad no place for 6th star.
Review: This is simply the best book that teaches you about Unix system level programming. Almost all system calls are explained in great details along with very comprehensible examples. The author made a claim that this book is not a mere repetition of Unix Programmer's Manual as the manual lacks logic and examples which this book provides. I think he really lived up to that claim.Many difficult topics are made so easy to grasp, sometimes I think this book should be retitled "Advanced Unix Programming Made Easy". The explanation are smooth with pointers to previously discussed concepts just in case you're lost. Each chapter comes with a number of exercises to try your understanding of the chapter, and most of the answers are available in the appendix of the book so this book is also great for self-learners. Before reading this book, I have read "Advanced Unix Programming" by Marc J. Rochkind, and I was confused by many things the guy said in the book plus the code is pretty outdated already and this book just filled in the gaps I had. The explanation is not geared towards any flavor of Unix, but pretty much all the mainstream Unix flavors such as BSD, SVR4, etc. So that gives a pretty wide horizon of view into Unix in general. I'm personally very impressed with his explanations on signal concept and concurrency controls. This book will provide a solid background for anyone wishing to become Unix/Linux kernel hacker. An investment worth every penny. Beware though, you must have a solid C programming background if you want to reap the maximum benefit out of this book. I found out that it's also a good idea to have K&R "C Programming Language" book around just in case you got confused with pointers, arrays and friends. This guy knows exactly what he is talking about and he expects you to know enough to understand him.
Rating:
Summary: We miss the author
Review: This book is praised as "one of the best books in unix programming", even if not the best. It is meaningless to repeat what many people said before, but I must state that THIS BOOK IS A GOOD INVESTMENT, although thing seems to be not up-to-date. Another weak point is that this book will not have it second edition, as the author, Stevens, pass-by in last year Sept.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing better than this book.
Review: The only complete reference for programmers working in the UNIX enviroment. Not just a reference book but a very well guide to learn fundamentals of UNIX programming. Everything you want to know about UNIX programming. Signal handling, file system, I/O and lots of other chapters about advanced programming with UNIX. If you're looking a book to develop "real" advanced apps. or to join the development of Linux kernel and other open system projects, this is the FIRST book you must buy... It's sad to say this but the author of this book; the big guru, Richard Stevens is nomore with us. rest it peace guru...
Rating:
Summary: Clearly the Bible of Unix - GREAT
Review: This is the BEST and most complete book on Programming Unix. If you're hiring an Unix developer and he doesn't own a copy of this book, he's clearly just a hack. Stevens writing style is clear, easy to read and provides alot of insight. Had a little trouble getting some of the examples to run on Linux but,learned a great deal while figuring out why. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for any UNIX & Linux Programmers
Review: This book should always in the reachable place for any UNIX & Linux programmers. This is probraby the most detailed book about UNIX programming in the market. Moreover, the writting style is easy-to-understand, and the examples are really usable and make sense (unlike many examples in many other books..). Now, I really want to know if the author has any plan for writting "Advanced Programming in the MFC", which would become a best book on MFC and he did with this one. Finally : Don't live without this book, if you want to program in UNIX & Linux.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent but outdated
Review: All of the other reviews are right, this is an excellent book. Unfortunately the book was written in 1992 and the world of Unix has changed substantially in the last 8 years. While still relevant, the book must be supplemented by the latest documentation for your target OS.
Rating:
Summary: Indispensible. No other book like it.
Review: This is the best book on UNIX Systems Programming. There is no other book like it. It is indispensible. It is clearly written, the technical information is flawless, and the insights it offers are profound. Don't try to make UNIX Systems calls without this book. Hopefully, the publisher will keep it updated since its author died untimely. Richard Stevens will be missed. All his books are essential to the UNIX practioner.
Rating:
Summary: The best unix programming companion
Review: Being an engineer and writing software on unix platforms, this book has been my constant companion. It gives a good understanding of the structures and system calls on unix platforms. The book goes straight to the point and the related text is kept to the minimum. This makes it a great reference book while programming. Along with unix man pages, it is the only book you'll require for unix system programming.
Rating:
Summary: The book for UNIX programming
Review: Tragically, mr. Stevens passed away 4 days ago. However, I am certain that APUE will live on for a long time. I have been a professional UNIX programmer for several years, and no other book, no other course, no other person has taught me as much about UNIX programming as Steven and his book. Every library function, every system call is meticously described. Especially valuable is the book's description on how each function works under various flavours of UNIX: Is this covered by POSIX, does it come from BSD or System 5? APUE is the only book that has a permanent place on my desk. If you do UNIX programming, you should have it too. Thank you, Richard. I wish though I had thanked you while you still lived.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful book!
Review: This is a very nice book on the C programming behind the UNIX operating system. It should be of great interest to those who are working on security issues in the UNIX operating system as well as those curious about how the UNIX shell command code is written. Chapter 4 on files and directories was exceptionally well written. A definite buy for those who are really embedded in the intricacies of UNIX.
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