4½ stars -- minor gripes
11/9/2006
The book contains everything that I want to know about the Unix Sockets API. The book is well structured, and the explanations are generally good. I would give it 4½ stars if it was possible.
I do have a few minor gripes though. The text can be a bit dull compared to other books. I bought "Programming with POSIX(R) Threads" by David R. Butenhof at the same time, and this book is much more entertaining while still factual and correct.
I dislike that all the examples in the book uses a special header defined in the Appendix. That makes it impossible to use snippets of code from the examples to make your own applications.
A piece of art
4/11/2007
This book is excellent. I had previously bought "Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment" by the same author and I loved it so now that I have to do network programming in Linux I got a copy of UNP. The book is well organized and has a lot more information than I expected (Raw sockets, Packet capture, IPv6 etc). Everything is explained clearly and with a lot of examples. It's a shame that the author passed away because I would buy any other book he wrote. Buy this book, it's expensive but It's so professional that is a "must have" for anyone that's going to be programming network applications in UNIX systems.
Thank you, Richard Stevens. Rest in Peace.
Competent Update to the Stevens Classic
6/19/2007This book consists of "in the trenches" information Mr. Stevens learned over the years by reading source, testing thoroughly, documenting extensively, and assembling carefully all this data into one heck of a book on Unix programming. I feel certain in declaring that many who've developed code on Unix know instantly of Stevens' works. This update to his book appears just as thorough.
I do agree with a previous reviewer who was unhappy with the code samples' dependency on a header file in the back of the book. It's a clumsy technique, but it's difficult to imagine another way to accomplish the goals of including the header.
This is the one I have been looking for.
6/30/2007If you are reading this review you probably are looking for a comprehensive text on socket programming. Look no further. This is the One. You can stop reading reviews trying to find the perfect one and go hit the Add To Shopping Cart button with confidence. Detailed, comprehensive and clear. A favorite.
Comprehensive.
2/29/2008The Best series of books to learn Network programming from. The BEST in the world. Nothing comes close.